Russo brothers’ first post-Marvel movie takes them far from superhero land
Updated 18 March 2021
Matt Ross
LONDON: After revolutionizing the world of blockbuster moviemaking with their “Avengers” movies, the Russo brothers had little choice but to go slightly smaller scale with their next project —the Apple TV+ crime drama “Cherry.” Their ambition, however, is undiluted. The pair seek to carve out a decades-spanning story of young love, brutal warfare, failing support systems and a descent into criminality, with Marvel alumnus Tom Holland in the title role. Based on veteran Nico Walker’s memoir, “Cherry” follows a young man who drops out of college to serve as an army medic in Iraq, returning home with undiagnosed PTSD and no clue how to manage the trauma he endured. As he and his young wife Emily (played by Ciara Bravo) struggle to realize the life their young love promised, Cherry winds up robbing banks to keep them safe from shady figures.
“Cherry” follows a young man who drops out of college to serve as an army medic in Iraq. (Supplied)
If nothing else, “Cherry” acts as a showcase for what a terrific actor Tom Holland has become. The young Brit displays a depth of feeling and visceral, emotional torment that is beyond his years. Unfortunately, while the Russo brothers’ ambition is commendable, the meandering narrative is riddled with tropes and largely predictable story spirals, and the tendency towards style over substance undermines much of the movie’s potential emotional heft.
There are some clever sequences, some stinging rebukes of the attitude towards war veterans, and some barbed jabs at corporate America as a whole, but an overreliance on voiceovers (which simply tell audiences, rather than show them) becomes repetitive, and a schmaltzy Hollywood ending undoes some of the character building by removing most of the story’s consequences.
Holland is great, though Bravo gets less to do than her brief appearances suggest she’s capable of. There’s a feeling of unfocused potential embedded in this (very long) movie. Perhaps it’s an ode to, or a reflection of, Cherry’s crippling lack of agency and direction. Or perhaps there’s simply too much here, a book’s worth of content crammed into a movie that doesn’t feel like quite the right fit.
Saudi artist Ahaad Alamoudi presents ‘The Social Health Club’ in Basel
Updated 15 June 2025
Jasmine Bager
RIYADH: This month, Saudi artist Ahaad Alamoudi is turning up the heat at Basel Social Club — which runs until June 21 in the Swiss city — with her latest installation, “The Social Health Club.”
Freshly conceived, but rooted in the artist’s past works, the yellow-drenched installation offers a layered, sensory experience — and sharp cultural commentary — as well as a first for the artist: a live-performance element.
Jeddah-based Alamoudi is known for creating immersive multimedia installations drawing from and exploring the complex dynamics of her evolving homeland. “The Social Health Club” is built around pieces found in Jeddah’s Haraj market in 2018 — a range of exercise equipment including a rowing machine.
Ahaad Alamoudi. (Supplied)
“These are pieces I collected from thrifting. I like the fact that no instructions came with the machines — I don’t have their name or the source of where they came from or who made them. But they’ve become part of the urban landscape that I’ve been in. And I was trying to create fun within the space,” Alamoudi told Arab News.
In “The Social Health Club,” the equipment, painted predominantly in vibrantly-saturated monochrome yellow, stands untouched, serving as symbols of a culture obsessed with self-optimization. At the core of the installation is a cameo from a yellow-painted iron previously featured in her 2020 video work “Makwah Man.” (Makwah means iron in Arabic.)
Part of Ahaad Alamoudi's 'The Social Health Club' at Basel Social Club. (Supplied)
“A lot of my pieces stem from a narrative I create within a video. In ‘Makwah Man,’ this man wearing a yellow thobe is ironing a long piece of yellow fabric in the middle of the desert. And as he’s ironing, he tells us how to live our lives. But in the process of him telling us how to live our lives, he also starts questioning his own in the process — understanding the role of power, understanding the pressure of change, adaptation,” Alamoudi explained.
“The yellow exists within the video piece, but he’s also wearing yellow thobe in the video piece. And (in this iteration at Art Basel) there’s also a rack of yellow thobes twirling in the exhibition. For me, the yellow thobe is like a unifying symbol. I’m trying to say that we’re all experiencing this in different ways. So in the performance (for “The Social Health Club”) a man (a local body builder) in a yellow thobe will be performing on these machines. He has no rule book. He doesn’t know anything; he doesn’t know how to ‘properly’ use the equipment. He’s going to go into the space and do things with the machines.
“The performance will be recorded. But I think it’s more like an activation,” she continued. “It’s not the piece itself. The piece itself exists as the machines.”
“The Social Health Club” was shaped through close collaboration with curator Amal Khalaf, who combed Jeddah’s market with Alamoudi in search of “machines that were a little bit abnormal, like not your typical machines that people would directly know what it is in the gym,” Alamoudi said.
“She’s quite incredible,” she continued. “And we really built the space together. Essentially, the main thing that I created was the video; everything else was built off of that. She really helped. She really looked at social change and how we navigate that. Our collaboration was perfect.”
Yellow dominates every inch of the piece—deliberately and intensely.
“I obsess over symbols within certain works I create. And with that also comes a color,” Alamoudi said. “I wanted to showcase something that was luxurious, colorful, almost like gold, but it’s not gold. It’s quite stark in its appearance.”
Yellow is both invitation and warning. “I think that yellow is also quite deceptive. I like it as a color to get people excited to come closer and see what’s happening, but at the same time question what it is — it’s so aggressive that it becomes a bit uncomfortable.”
A still from Alamoudi's 2020 video work 'Makwah Man,' which is also part of 'The Social Health Club'. (Supplied)
The viewer’s interaction is critical to the piece’s meaning.
“I think the machines represent something and they carry something, but they really are activated by the people — what people are doing with them,” Alamoudi said. “And that’s why I’m encouraging a lot of viewers to engage with and use the pieces, or try to use them without any instruction. A lot of people entering into the space (might) fear even touching or engaging with them. Having the performer there activating the structures is going to add another layer to the piece itself.”
She hopes visitors feel free to explore, unburdened by expectations.
“People are meant to use it any way that they want to use it. They can sit on it, stand on it, touch it — they can leave it alone,” she concluded with a laugh.
Ancient Malian city celebrates annual replastering of mosque
The annual replastering with “banco” — a mix of earth and water — shields the mosque from harsh weather
Updated 14 June 2025
AFP
DJÉNNÉ, Mali: Thousands of Malians have replastered the iconic earthen mosque in the historic city of Djenne during an annual ceremony that helps preserve the World Heritage site.
To the sound of drums and festive music, townsmen on Thursday coated the towering three-minaret mosque with fresh mud plaster.
The annual replastering with “banco” — a mix of earth and water — shields the mosque from harsh weather ahead of the Sahel region’s often violent rainy season.
“This mosque belongs to the whole world,” said Aboubacar Sidiki Djiteye, his face streaked with mud as he joined the “unifying” ritual.
“There’s no bigger event in Djenne than this,” he told AFP.
“Replastering the mosque is a tradition handed down from generation to generation,” said Bayini Yaro, one of the women tasked with carrying water for the plaster mix.
Locals prepared the mix themselves, combining water, earth, rice bran, shea butter and baobab powder — a hallmark of Sahel-Sudanese architecture.
Chief mason Mafoune Djenepo inspected the fresh coating.
“The importance of this mosque is immense. It’s the image on all Malian stamps,” he said.
A blessing ceremony followed the replastering, with Qur’anic verses recited in the mosque courtyard. Participants then shared dates and sweets.
First erected in the 13th century and rebuilt in 1907, the mosque is considered the world’s largest earthen structure, according to the United Nations’ cultural body, UNESCO.
Djenne, home to around 40,000 residents and known for preserving its traditional banco houses, has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage list since 1988.
The site was added to the endangered heritage list in 2016 due to its location in central Mali, where jihadist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group, as well as ethnic militias and criminal gangs, have waged a violent insurgency since 2012.
‘The Arts Tower’ brings new meaning and color to Riyadh’s Sports Boulevard
For Gharem, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, like “The Arts Tower,” constantly lifts eyes upward, motivating people to leap from the familiar into the unexpected, pushing them to embrace the future with imagination
Updated 15 June 2025
Nada Alturki
RIYADH: As you venture down the promenade of the capital’s latest attraction, Sports Boulevard, a new landmark is sure to catch your eye.
A tower at the intersection of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Road and Prince Turki bin Abdulaziz Al-Awwal Road bursts with color and character.
The mind behind this work, named “The Arts Tower,” is renowned Saudi artist Abdulnasser Gharem, who has centered the mundane within the architectural landscape early on in his career with works like “Siraat” (The Path) and “Road to Makkah.”
The Arts Tower at the intersection of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Road and Prince Turki bin Abdulaziz Al Awwal Road bursts with color and character. (Supplied)
Gharem told Arab News: “This piece is a witness to the transformation that’s happening here. It’s a symbol of investment into the cultural infrastructure as proof of how important that is to any society or community. I think the tower represents this transformation, especially that it, in itself, transforms one of the symbols of energy into a beacon for creative expression.”
Previously one of numerous 83.5-meter electricity pylons, the tower was meant to be removed for the sake of the Sports Boulevard project.
“I asked if I could have one,” Gharem said, explaining that, as one of the nominated artists to propose a work to beautify the boulevard, he was keen to use the existing structure.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The selected proposal features a total of 691 colored panels that were installed to bring the tower’s vibrant facade to life.
• The pieces used are all related to the grand narrative of the Kingdom, including economic diversity, cultural transformations, and social changes.
Author and curator Nato Thompson said about the work in a statement: “By repurposing a symbol of energy infrastructure and turning it into a beacon of artistic expression, Gharem highlights the evolving role of culture and art in Saudi Arabia’s development journey.
“It stands as living proof of the Kingdom’s commitment to nurturing its cultural landscape, making arts and creativity an inseparable part of its identity just as oil and energy were in the past.”
The selected proposal features a total of 691 colored panels that were installed to bring the tower’s vibrant facade to life.
Abdulnasser Gharem, Saudi artist
It utilizes elements from Saudi architecture and patterns we recognize from our old homes, primarily the triangular shape.
“I was lucky that the tower was made up of triangles, which is a geometrical shape that brings together the different regions of the Kingdom and the historical features of our beginnings, so it’s a symbol of unity,” Gharem said.
The pieces used are all related to the grand narrative of the Kingdom, including economic diversity, cultural transformations, and social changes.
This piece is a witness to the transformation that’s happening here. It’s a symbol of investment into the cultural infrastructure as proof of how important that is to any society or community.
Abdulnasser Gharem, Saudi artist
“The colors are alluding to the connection between our history and heritage and the concepts of cheerfulness and mental hospitality. A tower always forces you to look up.”
For Gharem, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, like “The Arts Tower,” constantly lifts eyes upward, motivating people to leap from the familiar into the unexpected, pushing them to embrace the future with imagination.
“The piece is based on sunlight,” he said. “The daylight gives a completely, completely different dimension to the work compared to its urban illumination during the night.
The sketch of “The Arts Tower” by Abdulnasser Gharem. (Supplied)
“The colors do not just appear; they shift, transform, and come alive in different ways throughout the day. Here, nature becomes a crucial element to the structure.”
Even the wind has played a part in determining the number and placement of the colored pieces used. “It taught me that there needs to be some gaps in order to allow the piece to breathe and I was forced to humble myself upon the power of nature.
“The wind became my partner in design,” he said.
“The Arts Tower” is designed to make people feel represented and connected.
While the Sports Boulevard promotes physical activity, the creative landmark serves a deeper purpose: it is a thoughtful space meant to inspire human interaction and community — and more importantly, invite them to slow down, engage, and ponder the future.
“Culture is one of the key factors for our country’s development path. At the end of the day, culture is just as important as energy. It’s worth investing in, and it’s a certificate that the Kingdom is committed to nurturing its cultural scene,” Gharem said.
Egyptian film ‘Happy Birthday’ takes top honors at Tribeca Film Festival
Updated 14 June 2025
Arab News
DUBAI: Egyptian film “Happy Birthday,” the debut feature by writer-director Sarah Goher, this week took two of the international festival’s top honors — for best international narrative feature and for best screenplay.
The film, which stars Nelly Karim, Hanan Motawie, Hanan Youssef and Doha Ramadan, tells the story of Toha, an eight-year-old girl working as a child maid for a wealthy family in Cairo. She forms a close bond with the family’s daughter, Nelly, and becomes determined to give her the perfect birthday — something Toha herself has never experienced.
As her connection with Nelly’s mother begins to blur the lines of class and duty, Toha is forced to confront the stark social hierarchies of modern Egypt.
Goher co-wrote the film with acclaimed Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, internationally recognized for Marvel’s “Moon Knight.” Diab also took on the role of executive producer.
‘Ocean’ — bleak indictment of mankind offers a glimmer of hope
David Attenborough’s latest documentary is a vital, compelling call to action
Updated 13 June 2025
Adam Grundey
JEDDAH: “Ocean with David Attenborough” was released regionally on Disney+ on June 8 — World Ocean Day. It hit cinemas in May, on the 99th birthday of its venerable and venerated presenter, the famed biologist and broadcaster.
Like all Attenborough-fronted nature docs, “Ocean” is gorgeously shot and an immersive viewing experience. But while the vast majority of his output leaves you speechless at the on-screen beauty, “Ocean” also strikes you dumb at the horrifying devastation wrought on the open seas by the 40,000+ super-sized fishing trawlers operating around our planet constantly.
Sweeping the seabed with their giant nets, these ships commit slaughter on an unimaginable scale, leaving little alive in their rapacious search for a few specific species that humans actually eat. In their wake they leave something akin to the dystopian portrayals of a nuclear winter in post-apocalyptic dramas. These grim, heart-breaking shots are interspersed with glorious, vibrant scenes of what a healthy seabed should look like — towering forests of kelp, sea meadows, abundant diverse communities of extraordinary marine life… A reminder of what we are destroying every minute of every day.
Attenborough lays out for us with all of his trademark passion and authority just what is at risk here. The seas, he stresses, are vital for the survival of humankind. And humankind is putting the seas in terrible jeopardy. Marine ecosystems are delicately balanced and linked in complex, subtle ways that we are only now beginning to understand. And industrial fishing is far from subtle. As Attenborough notes, if rainforests were being razed at this rate, the protests would be global and furious. But because this destruction takes place miles below the surface of the water, it goes mainly unnoticed. Incredibly, this mindless, untargeted carnage is not illegal; it is positively encouraged — and heavily subsidized — by many governments.
Thankfully, there is hope. Attenborough reveals that scientists have discovered that — if left alone through the imposition of “no-take zones” — the oceans can recover at an incredible rate, and the most barren of sea floors can once again flourish in just a few years. There is now an international pact to turn one-third of Earth’s seas into no-take zones by 2030. And if this does happen — note the if — then there’s a good chance that man-made damage can be reversed not just in the water, but on land, as sea life is, it turns out, extremely adept at reducing carbon. The sea could save the world.
As nature documentaries go, it’s hard to imagine “Ocean” being bettered (except perhaps for the distracting clichéd mishmash that serves as its soundtrack, which deserves to be classified as a man-made disaster itself). This is a compelling, vital and urgent narrative delivered by an expert scientist and broadcaster accompanied by awe-inspiring, mind-boggling cinematography showing us wonders that most of us will never come close to seeing first-hand. And it lays out a path for survival. Whether we actually take that path...
