10 Foreign Movies you Didn’t Know were Filmed in Morocco
How many have you seen? – All of these are on my to see list
Who loves movies?
Who wants to be in a movie?
Who’s about to be in a movie?
Yours truly.
They’ve now filmed my bit, though for all I know it will be a 2 second segment with a blurry me in the background, or even a part that ends up on the ‘cutting room floor’, as it used to go. (Now it’s probably a flick of the forefinger over the delete button, much as Johnny Depp’s character does in Secret Window.)
Missing is his dog, who he consults at length over the quality of his writing.
This post is inspired by recent events, and some of the way-out things that happen when you take yourself outside your comfort zone.
I’m about to be in a movie.
It probably won’t be released til at least the end of this year, I’m guessing next year (since they will still be filming through to the end of June) But don’t worry, I will have it all over social media and all over this page when there is a release date.
I am not a trained actor. As a writer I understand how hard it is to get there, and this is totally aside from that – I’m just an extra, a body which looks right for the background texture.
Having said that, as a writer my world is stories, which includes movies. I love movies (hence this page section), and watch a heap. I love to talk movies – more in the action-adventure genre, feelgood, comedy and lighthearted areas, maybe throw in a crime thriller (hence the genre in which I write).
I know that there are also a lot of awesome dramas, but for the most part I don’t want to visit those emotions. I’ve had enough life-crap of my own. I want a ride and a laugh, even if it’s a bit on the absurd side. (and will include Disney – they actually have some excellent movies with awesome and inspiring messages!)
Shrek, a classic fairy tale with a princess in a uniquely modern spin.
I’m not even one who has daydreamed about being in the movies. But I love movies, so being connected up with them in any way is exciting. So exciting I forget that for those who are in it, all this is humdrum. I introduced myself last night to someone who I was told was a very big-name movie director in Morocco – and got duly and appropriately snubbed for intruding on his evening out.
But I am inspired by the stories of actors who have made it. I love being around other creative people – they have been hard to find. Until I came to Tangier, that is.
I got suggested for a movie late last year and auditioned for it – a French feature length movie directed by a Cannes film festival winner. I suited the part perfectly – especially since they wanted someone who wasn’t a trained actor. It was as if the part had been written for me – the foreigner who came to Tangier two years ago and wanted to renovate a ryad (well, I’ve looked at plenty and been in plenty, and I have a friend renovating one…). All the character details fit me perfectly. I even made it to a second audition which included some proper filming of the actual lines.
However, the role was not mine to have.
I think my downfall may have been my abysmal level of French. Especially my pronunciation, which has been so bad, nobody could understand me. Whenever I asked for something in French, the usual response was ‘Do you speak English?’. And that would be that.
I have now spent a full month learning how to say the letter ‘r’. It is not a rolled tongue sound at all, as I’d always thought. In fact, the tongue is simply not used at all. It’s more a matter of pulling the tongue right back out of the way and back down the throat, maybe a vibration somewhere below the adam’s apple.
I learned that a good trick is to put a pen between your teeth and push it as far back as you can, and then say the ‘r’ words – like Rosemarie me rencontre rarement pour un verre rouge de riz rond (Rosemarie rarely meets me for a red glass of round rice). When I didn’t have a pen at hand, I used a spoon, and sat practicing for a while, before shifting to practicing the ‘n’ sound by squeezing my nose – Bonjour et bonsoir Monsieur Ninon.
Very focused, and having sat practicing these two sounds with their odd props for quite some time, I glanced up. That’s when I belatedly remembered I wasn’t in the privacy of my own home – much to the amusement of the other café patrons. I quietly put my teaspoon back next to my coffee glass, paid the waiter and started the hunt for another café to frequent .
I won’t boast. Yet. Because I’m only half way there. But I have noticed a shift in responses to my efforts in French. Now people try to work with me, and actually seem to have an idea of what I’m trying to ask for.
Having failed at movie, but starting to get passable in French, I then heard about another movie audition – this one just for extras.
Why not!
And this time they were interested.
Not a speaking role. And no French involved. This one is a thriller and being filmed in Tangier.
I see that you are surprised. Why does anyone film movies in Morocco?
In fact, Morocco has a very healthy movie industry, with a surprising number of foreign movies being filmed here. The centre of the Arab world of movies – the Hollywood, the Bollywood, the Nollywood – is Cairo. And that industry is huge.
I am constantly shocked at the huge barrier that exists around ‘our’ Anglocentric world when there is such a phenomenal wealth of culture elsewhere, often greater than ours, and not least of all the Arabic world. They were sophisticated (literature, education, medicine, philosophy, astronomy, technology…) while our forefathers were wallowing in the dark ages. (For clarification, watch Monty Python’s ‘The Holy Grail’ and the peasant woman objecting to Arthur claiming kingship on the basis of taking a sword from the hand of some half-naked woman floating in a lake).
But Morocco has its own Hollywood, in a desert town called Ouarzazate, near Marrakech. A surprising number of movies have been filmed here in Morocco. I believe it is relatively good and stable for political, sectarian and security reasons, making it popular for scenarios in desert or Arabic/middle eastern settings.
The iconic movie set in Morocco is Casablanca. Ironically, it wasn’t filmed here – but entirely in a studio in Hollywood. That hasn’t stopped me wanting to go to Casablanca. My favourite café in Tangier reminds me of the atmosphere of the movie – a 1930s art deco style café called Café de Paris. When I first came to Morocco the idea of telling everyone that I lived in Casablanca was very appealing – one of those exotic sounding places that is very far removed from Australia.
But all this inspired me to look up movies which have been filmed in Morocco. There were so many I’ve decided on two lists. The first is movies I’ve seen and loved which were filmed here. This one is my ‘to watch’ list – my movie homework for this week.
The set for the cafe in Casablanca - you see what I mean?
Oh, and I lied about 10 movies – I totally failed to limit myself to a list of 10! Or even 20 - this first is a list (of 20) movies filmed in Morocco which are still on my to see list. (shortly I will post another 20, movies filmed in Morocco which I have seen). They are sort of in order of how much I want to see them, though this is something in perpetual flux.
How many of them have you seen?
1 Lawrence of Arabia: 1962
Based on the true story of T.E. Lawrence, starring Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness and Anthony Quinn. This one has been at the top of my ‘want to see’ list for quite a few years. Some of it was filmed in the historic desert city of Ait Benhaddou just half an hour from Ouarzazate.
2 Men in Black International: 2019
Showing a marketplace in the background - in Marrakech
I can’t believe I still haven’t seen this one – I love the MIB movies. Chris Hemsworth, Emma Thomson and Liam Neeson – I’m sold.
3 Spectre: 2015
Yes - the stairs run from souk Bara markets up to the Boulevarde - as per my first blog “Come Walk With Me”, in Travel. I walk up these stairs regularly.
And oh yeah, I’ve eaten here - up the top on the left on the balcony, great views of the bay.
Spectre and the 007 movies – I’ve been watching them in order, and still with Octopussy from 1983. But Spectre was actually filmed in Tangier. Also The Living Daylights with Timothy Dalton was filmed in Morocco
4 The Man Who Knew Too Much: 1956
Marrakech, Bab Jdid gate - planning to see it for myself next month
Who can pass up an Alfred Hitchcock I haven’t yet seen, especially one with Jimmy Stewart. Filmed in Marrakech
5 The Sheltering sky: 1990
Filmed in Tangier, and Ait Benhoudda near Marrakech
With John Malkovic this one was recently recommended to me, and now near the top of my list. It is based on a book by Paul Bowles, an author who is an icon of Tangier, living here from 1947 until his death in 1999. He and his work (including significant contributions to music) is featured in the American Legation Museum near the Spanish steps in the old medina in Tangier. The movie was filmed in Ait Benhaddou near Marrakech, and in Tangier. in the El Minzah Hotel - which I mention in my first blog (Come Walk With Me in Travel). The hotel is full of photos of movie stars - John Malkovic’s photo, of course - and other famous people who have been there, including a very cool bar full of photos.
I am also very excited to learn that its final scene is set in the very cafe I go to almost every day, at the bottom of my street - cafe Colon.
6 Kingdom of Heaven: 2005
A movie from the director Ridley Scott, with Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Liam Neeson (Who gave the best advice for a broken heart in Love Actually, saying ‘We need Kate, and we need Leo. And we need them now.’). This movie was set during the crusades of the 12th century.
7 Body of Lies: 2008
Leo in Morocco
Another Ridley Scott, this time a spy thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Spy…. Thriller…. Leo… Ridley Scott… What more is there to say.
8 Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra: 2002
With Gerard Depardieu, and needing no more explanation.
9 Hideous Kinky: 1998
Based on a true story about an English woman travelling to Morocco and living in Marrakech with her two daughters in the 1960s, and needs no further explanation because Kate Winslet is in it.
10 Alexander: 2004
Oliver Stone movie with a bunch of big names including Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins and Val Kilmer. Many scenes were filmed in the beautiful beach town of Essaouira on the Atlantic coast. He is also the topic of my daughter’s final history project at school, and a story idea I’m playing with.
11 Babel: 2006
Back at Ait Benhaddou - well, you have to admit, it’s a pretty spectacular location
With Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, and filmed in part in a Berber village (Ethnic group in northern Africa/Morocco) in the High Atlas Mountains has been on my list for a while. An accident brings 4 groups of people together.
12 The Unknown Saint: 2019
An intriguing story line – this one is actually set in Morocco – not just filmed here. And on Netflix at the minute.
With the police hot on his tail, a thief buries his stolen money on a hilltop and makes it look like a grave before they catch up with him. Years later when he gets out of jail he goes back to claim his treasure, only to discover that it’s now a revered pilgrimage site to an ‘unkown saint’. Because of my work hours I missed seeing it at Cinema Rif recently, so I’ll have to watch it on Netflix.
Update: I have now seen it. It was quirky - had a similar atmosphere to some of Australia’s movies. If you like slightly odd, I’d highly recommend this one. It was full of bizarre scenarios, and I loved that about it. I loved the movie.
13 American Sniper: 2014
I’m not necessarily big on war movies, though there have been some excellent ones (some favourites include The Great Escape, Breaker Morant, Good Morning Vietnam, and Saving Private Ryan.) But this one was directed by Clint Eastwood, an amazing director, and filmed in Rabat. It’s based on a true story about America’s most lethal sniper ever.
14 Captain Phillips: 2013
Tom Hanks. There’s nothing more to say. Most of the movie was filmed in Malta, but some was done around Ouarzazate and Marrakech.
15 Rules of engagement: 2000
Some favourites – Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L Jackson, Ben Kingsley and Australia’s Guy Pearce (favourite movie, and a must see for all – Priscilla Queen of the Desert). A powerful legal story about the military, filmed in Ouarzazate near Marrakech.
16 Gladiator: 2000
Ridley Scott – again, and Russell Crowe. Filmed in Ait Benhaddou near Ouarzazate. And who can pass up an epic movie anyway!
17 Prince of Persia: 2010
Ait Benhaddou
With Jake Gyllenhaal and Ben Kingsley, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer who has been involved in many favourites of mine, including Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Déjàvu, CSI, Beverley Hills Cop, Lucifer...
18 Black Hawk Down: 2002
Another Ridley Scott, with Ewan McGregor and filmed in Rabat and Kenitra, the train junction where I change trains on my way to visit my friend in Fes.
19 Hidalgo, 2004
Has been on my to watch list for a long time – a race around the world by pony express.
20 Live from Baghdad: 2002
By now there doesn’t seem to be much point in leaving the last one or two off the list, so this one, which is about journalists in the Gulf War in 1991, with Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Keaton (Batman), and David Suchet (Poirot).
The next blog is movies filmed in Morocco which I have seen.