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Bas ya bahar- the cruel sea

A Kuwaiti pearl diving film about life after independence. the movie won many awards in the Arab and international cinema festivals. it was as nominated for the academy award for best foreign-language film at the 45th academy awards, but its entry was not listed in top five competitive oscars.

Directed by khalid al-Siddiq

The script and dialogue by: Abdulrahman al-salah
Starring: Mohammed al-mansour (as (Moussaed, the pearl diver)
Amal Bakr (as mahbouba, nura’s assistant)
Saad al-Faraj as father
Hayat el-fahad as mother
Release date: 1972
Running time: 100 minutes
Produced by: Aflam al Saqr company

Awards:

The first prize at the youth film festival in Damascus (1972)

The honor award at the first tehran international film festival, 1972

The international film critics award at the Venice film festival, 1972

The “silver lion” prize at the Venice festival, 1972

The “silver hugo” prize at the Chicago international film festival (1972)

Movie Synopsis:

Kuwait however, surprised the world when a film by Khalid al-Siddiq, “the cruel sea” – better known by its Arabic name, “Bas ya Bahr” – appeared in 1972, representing artistically the pre-oil life of pearl divers in the country. the movie tells the story of Kuwaitis in the 193s and the 1940s after decline of pearling industry in the mid-1940s. for being a country without any experience in cinema, the film demonstrated great talent and immediately became a masterpiece of Arab cinema.

In the plot, a crippled pearl diver forbids his son to go into the sea to dive for pearls, wanting for him a much better future than that he had for himself in the turbulent sea at the mercy of the inclement weather and the dangers associated with pearl diving – money feuds, ruthless overlords and greed. this is a drama about Kuwait before the discovery of oil when fishing was the predominant occupation. indeed, pearl fishing was the economic backbone of this pre-oil era, a perilous activity for the divers who plunge deep to haul up oysters.

Technically speaking, al-Siddiq frequently employs zoom-ins for emphasis. the distortion of the lens expresses the paranoia and fear when they look at each other in their secret meetings. most notable though is the underwater photography (the first Arab and GCC film to have even attempted this) showing the pearl dives, a major technical challenge by the standards of equipment and experience the crew had. these are paired with aerial shots of the boats so that we get views of the sea both from below and above. on the other hand, some of the imagery is genuinely striking, the direction is solid, the underwater sequences are impressive for its small budget and the score is fittingly archaic and area-specific. there is no doubt that Khalid al-Siddiq, by introducing his pioneering cinematic techniques, visual linguistic scenery, visual-horizontal-vertical video footages, has made important cinematic achievements in the history of cinema in Kuwait and GCC countries in general.