Misunderstandings and Setbacks: The Heritage of "Rules of Engagement"

Photographs: Hagbeck

It goes without saying that making a film in Yemen, just after the recently released "Rules of Engagement" has been a difficult task. As previously reported, "Rules of Engagement" is a controversial product of American mainstream cinema, presenting Yemen in a polemic and artificial manner. Even though it was produced in North Africa, "Rules of Engagement" left deep traces in the collective consciousness of the Yemeni people in and outside their country. As their pride and self-esteem had been hurt deeply some had not recovered yet when facing a new film project on Yemen. Therefore in some villages the production of a film had been looked at with reluctance and suspicion. Being dedicated to the principle of authenticity, the team was not intending to support an artificially created impression of Yemen. Production manager Ahmed Hizam al-Dulaee explains that he considers "A West-East Macbeth" as "a reply to that American movie 'Rules of Engagement' which distorted facts about Yemen." Mr. Roes and his colleagues had attended several meetings with the villages' Sheiks in order to introduce themselves and their project to the community.

The directors' first choice had been Dhafeer, a village located in the Bani Matar district of al-Mahweet Province. As lead actor Andreá Smith recalls their first meeting with the Sheiks of Dhafeer: "We all were very moved by their friendly and warm welcome." However, after a while, suspicions enforced by prejudices aroused and rumours spread. Ahmad Hizam al-Dulaee said that "the villagers thought that we were looking for their hidden treasures in the mountains." However these villagers did not consider the treasures immaterial: they lay within themselves, their traditions and pride which were never in danger of being taken away.

Rumours also put an end to a temporary stay at Kohlan village. "Ironically it all started with a scene called 'Innocence'", Smith reports. In that scene Macbeth sits on the floor in a room of his palace. He has just become king. He feels guilty as he has murdered his guest in order to get to the throne. The room is empty, symbolising the kings loneliness. A small dog is sitting next to him. Macbeth realizes that the small creature is afraid of him. Thus, it seems to Macbeth as if every creature must know about his deed and fear him as inhumane beast. Very little was required for the scene: an empty room, a small dog and a rug on which Macbeth should be seated. Even though or maybe especially because the scene consisted of little accessories its impact was stronger than anyone might have thought. The team had bought a musalla (rug used for praying) which had been the cheapest available on the market. Only Abdullah Muhammad al-Hamadani (playing Macbeth) seems to have been aware of the symbolic impact that lay within the combination of these elements. "I used to tell Roes about the roles which I would reject. For instance there was a scene when he wanted to put a dog on a praying rug. I rejected my role in this scene." An old man who watched the preparations put the elements, a Muslim, a musalla and a dog together and quickly came to a dreadful conclusion: He went to the Mosque to tell the summoned community, that the team was shooting a scene, in which a Muslim prays to a dog. The suspicion that the team was producing a blasphemous film, of course, shocked the whole village community.

Most of the scenes were shot in Kawkaban, which proved to be the most safe and friendly environment for making a film. "The villagers here prepared everything for us and opened the doors of their houses for shooting the film." Ahmad Hizam al-Dulaee recalls. Watching the team and actors shooting the scenes became a popular pass-time for the villagers in Kawkaban. According to him, the trouble the team had to face here arouse from the friendly curiosity of the villagers. "They and their children surrounded the unit during shooting; which caused an inconvenience. However, the people here proved very helpful." However the role of a cameraman surrounded by people was not new to Mr. Hagbeck. As having gathered experience when producing documentaries on Palestine, he had learned to cope with kids jumping into the scene and happily waving to their imaginative audience. Finally the team was happy to overcome these troubles. They were grateful for their friendly reception by the villagers of Kawkaban. "They are friends here!" Smith concludes.

The Yemeni Actors' Experience

Last week YO was lucky to meet two Yemeni actors who participated in Roes' film project: 20 year old Yahya Hamood Mohsin Al-Dhafeeri and 18 year old Abdullah Nasser Muhammed Al-Hamdani.

Yahya Hamood Mohsin Al-Dhafeeri of al-Dhafeer village in Bani Matar district of al-Mahweet Province was the first Macbeth appointed by Roes: "It was quite incidental that I got acquainted with Michael Roes when he was in my village. I thought him to be a tourist. I invited him and his friends and hosted them at my house. Then I learned that they were to shoot a film based on Shakspeare's 'Macbeth'. I was selected to play the role of Macbeth as Roes, the producer, thought I was Macbeth's double."

Even though the young Yemeni had had no experience with acting, he did not hesitate to take the challenge. To him, the story of Macbeth was not new, however his understanding of the character developed during the production. "I read Macbeth long time ago; but I knew 'him' better during the shooting of the film." The first scenes were shot with him as Macbeth and sixteen other Yermeni actors and performance artist Smith.

He explains the teams' approach regarding authenticity "I played my role in my ordinary attire. The scenes were shot in ordinary houses. Nothing was changed!" As a whole he considers the film's effect to be supporting of a Yemeni-German friendship: "The shooting will reinforce the Yemeni-Gerrnan relations which are already excellent. Secondly, it will give publicity to Yemen in Europe."

When al-Dhafeeri was stricken by an illness and was unable to continue, it was Abdulla Muhammed Nasser Al-Hamadani who spontaneously offered to play Macbeth during the following scenes. "The producer was in a critical state and shooting had to stop. Then I offered to play al-Dhafeeri's double. The producer accepted. He narrated the story as I didn't know anything about Macbeth. Actually I had a role in the film as a soldier walking behind the king."


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