"ساهر الليل" ; A glimpse of "الزمن الجميل"

In the race of Ramadan Sitcoms and Shows, there's one show that really stands out on TV "ساهر الليل".

An ode to the good old days, the sitcom is set in Kuwait in the 70's;

apparently the golden age and "أحلى سنين" as almost every adult in Kuwait seems to

suggest (I wouldn't know I wasn't born yet, sad..)

The Cinematography is amazing, everything was taken into consideration from the

actual colors of the shots that all seem to be in shot in that hazy vibrant shade that

is very reminiscent to that "sepia" option on our modern day cameras,to the clothes

,to the hairstyles, to the cars (or as they call it "الموتر"on the show which I found

really cute) to even the beverages (everyone seems to be sipping drinks from

vintage coke and miranda glass bottles).

Best of all, the storyline is easy going. No violence, drugs, modern day drama

-something of which all the other shows seem to excel in and which quite frankly is

not just boring, but a constant repetition.

I'm all for showcasing/imitating things that happen in real life, things we might not

want to believe are happening in our society but actually take place and all that;

but when you get fed spoon-loads of that every Ramadan and see that drama

occur everywhere one needs to escape to a better more utopia-istic generation,

and that's exactly what "Sahir Al-Layl" does.

It's all about social relationships; family bonds (it follows the story of 3 families

and their daily life),romance (the days in which "الجامعه" was a place to "حبني وأحبك"

and where endless love stories took center stage; it's not the same now, we no

longer hear of college romances), and giving the viewers a stroll down memory

lane (I know my mom was blown away by the university scenes that seemed to

remind her of Kuwait University in the seventies, as she commented "ظبطينها").

In one word, it's a delight. Sort of like a chick-flick movie gone all Kuwaiti

Ramadan TV show. No drama, no frowns, just a pleasant easy spin in the

seventies if only for an hour or so; apleasant lovely escape from politics,drama

and Ramadan stressors.

And as I once tweeted, I feel like "نسفت القتره على الكتف" is going to be hitting every guy near you post "ساهر الليل"; seventies style will definitely be in.

I feel a "Does Art Imitates Life, or does Life Imitate Art?" discussion coming up.

xx

Baroque

PS. Gimme sometime I'll get my act straight, and give it all back to you.