Hideous Kinky (1998)

Director:

Gillies MacKinnon

Writers:

Esther Freud (novel)
Billy MacKinnon (writer)

Release Date:

26 April 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It's not just an adventure... It's a love affair.

Plot:

Hideous Kinky is the story of two sisters (seven and five years old) traveling with their hippie mother from London to Morocco in the late 60's...

Plot Keywords:

Sister | Hippie | Morocco | Male Nudity | Bare Butt

Awards:

1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Kate Winslet	...	Julia
Saïd Taghmaoui	...	Bilal
Bella Riza	...	Bea
Carrie Mullan	...	Lucy
Pierre Clémenti	...	Santoni
Abigail Cruttenden	...	Charlotte
Ahmed Boulane	...	Ben Said
Sira Stampe	...	Eva
Amidou	...	Sufi Sheikh
Michelle Fairley	...	Patricia
Kevin McKidd	...	Henning
Peter Youngblood Hills	...	Hippy
Mohcine Barmouni	...	Aziz
Annouar Zrika	...	Hicham
Mohamed Cherkaoui	...	Hadaoui

Also Known As:

Marrakech express (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality and language.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English | French | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:6 | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Marrakech, Morocco

Company:

AMLF

Trivia:

The title of the film and book comes from the only two words the two girls remember their mum's friend saying "Hideous" and "Kinky". Bea in particular uses the words in a game that the girls play which is similar to "tag" but if she shouts "Hideous Kinky" before her sister tags her she is free.

Quotes:

Julia: What's this? Paper hats, how useful!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

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A movie that rewards you to the degree of your own insights

This film has all the qualities of an exquisite poem: the rhythm of feeling, the power of understated experience, the slender and subtle plot. Some elements of this story--the existential search for identity, the lack of obvious momentum, the subjective encounter with alternative civilisations etc.--are very much out of fashion at the moment, as is evident from several reviews. Poetry may be out of fashion for similar reasons, but probably not forever. I admire this film as a gesture of art, one that enriches the viewer without spelling out a heavy-handed individualistic message. I hope we will see more movies like this one.