Only hours after the streaming platform Netflix released its latest Arabic work, the film "Ashab Wala Aazz," which is the first Arabic film produced by the famous platform, controversy arose. The film, based on the Italian film "Perfect Strangers," became the 19th version presented globally of the renowned Italian film. However, its screening in the Arab region did not go unnoticed.
Directed by Wissam Samera in his directorial debut, the film features a large cast including Mona Zaki, Iyad Nassar, Nadine Labaki, Adel Karam, and George Khabbaz. It quickly topped the list of trending works on the streaming platform and became the number one film available in Egypt. Yet, it faced significant backlash due to its content, which some believe is inappropriate for Arab society, alongside language that has not been heard in Arabic works before.
The film revolves around seven friends who gather for dinner on a night of a lunar eclipse. They come up with a crazy idea to play a game by revealing everything that appears on their phones while together, resulting in major crises and the unveiling of secrets previously unknown.
Some critics attempted to assess the film from an artistic perspective, arguing that it merely replicated what was presented in the Italian version without any creative adaptation or localization that would fit the society it is being shown in, making it a carbon copy of the Italian film with unaltered events, which detracted from its artistic quality.
Meanwhile, others launched a significant attack on the film and its creators due to its boldness, which they are not accustomed to, given the language and events within the film that they considered incompatible with the values of Arab society.
While Mona Zaki made an effort to congratulate and acknowledge all those who co-starred with her in the film through a post shared on her official social media accounts, the Egyptian actress faced a wave of criticism from her followers. The comments included congratulations from colleagues and strong backlash from the audience, with some expressing their shock at seeing Mona Zaki in such a completely new role, while others were taken aback by the film's events, deeming it alien to our Arab community.
It seems that the film's cast opted for silence, especially since the film's release on the streaming platform was only a day prior, yet it sparked such widespread uproar.
