Rating: 
Summary: A work of Art!
Review: I really enjoyed this film! Kate Winslet is brilliant as an adventure- seeking mother of two daughters which she drags around all over Morocco in search of fun and love with a handsome Moroccan man, Bilal. What she doesn't realize is that her selfish desire for adventure could easily put her two daughters in the hands of danger in a third- world country. After becoming a HUGE star with Titanic, Kate Winslet chose to do this adorable little film that she loved even though she could have chosen much bigger roles that were offered to her. Hideous Kinky is for people who can truly respect a charming and colorful movie, love of fun and adventure, and true romanticism. Kate Winslet is wonderful, and the two little girls, Be and Lucy are adorable! Only for the truly creative to enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful locations, gorgeous lighting, lovely sets, but....
Review: Where's the story? That's the question I kept asking myself watching this visually stunning, but flawed movie. To be fair, I guess, there IS a story. A young British mother drags her two young daughters to Morroco in search of spiritual enlightenment. That's pretty much the movie. She meets a local, rugged, Morrocan male... He likes her kids. They have no money. They travel around. Her eldest daughter wants to be normal and disagrees with the Mom's bohemian ways. There is good acting and I liked the relationships between Kate Winslet, ... and her eldest daughter. Also there are a lot of little, sweet, scenes with the characters and their surroundings. But in the end I didn't really care for Kate's character or the choices she made. I didn't "take the journey" with her for her quest for enlightenment. But the movie is VERY visual stunning. It was a treat just to watch it. The colors, the production design, the shots. Visual fantastic. I just wish they'd taken a little more time creating an engaging story around all this beauty. B-
Rating: 
Summary: A 70s hippy movie, set in Marrakesh
Review: Marrakesh was a famous hippy destination during those amazing hippy hears. Gillies MacKinnon, the director of Hideous Kinky, spent time here and documented the probably-at-least-partially-true story of an innocent middle-class young London woman with two daughters who goes off the deep end. Kate Winslet plays the lead role in a story narrated from the point of view of one of the girls. While their mummy goes about her business of drifting around looking for love and enlightenment, the girls shift mostly for themselves. One of the girls seems entirely willing to go along for the bumpy ride, but Lucy, the sensible one, craves tea-time, regular meals, school uniforms, and a reliable mother. Mostly set in the colorful and exotic local of central Marrakesh, Hideous Kinky is a feast of images, sound, and color - and a good depiction of the ethos of those oh so confusing years.
Rating:
Summary: QUIRKY AND ABSORBING FILM...
Review: This is a wonderful film with stellar performances by the entire cast. It is about a young woman's quest for the meaning of life. Taking place in the early 1970s, it is very reminiscent of an era now passed, an era when "flower power" was the rule of the day. Here, Kate Winslet plays Julia, a twenty five year old young mother of two children, nine year old Bea, stunningly acted by Bella Riza, and her younger sister, Lucy, charmingly played by Carrie Mullen. They abandon their structured, staid life in London, when Julia decides to leave their father to go to Marrakech in Morocco, then the capitol of the disaffected, in search of spiritual enlightenment. Taking her children, Julia goes on an adventure, an adventure to which Lucy, the younger of her two daughters, takes to almost immediately. Nine year old Bea, on the other hand, begins to yearn for a more "normal", structured life. Julia, however, will have none of it. Living in a Moroccan slum with her girls, she romanticizes their existence. Julia becomes involved with Bilal, a street performer of sorts, who looks out for them. Wonderfully acted by Said Taghemaoui, Bilal charms Julia and her daughters. He cannot, however, support them, and they cannot support themselves. This becomes clear as they begin a rag tag journey into the Moroccan country side. Sooner, rather than later, reality sets in. The adventure wears thin on Bea who becomes estranged from her mother. The harsh reality of every day life confronts Julia, who ultimately realizes that traipsing around Morocco just puts her young daughters at risk. Unfortuntely, this realization does not occur to her until she almost loses Bea to illness. It is then that Bilal steps up to home plate and gives them the means to return. They leave Marrakech to begin their journey home, taking with them enough memories to last a lifetime. This is a wonderful movie with exceptional cinematography. A virtual travelogue of Moroccan life, it is a visual feast that is sure to delight those who have a hankering for faraway, exotic places and a thirst for adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Beauty and chaos
Review: "Hideous Kinky" are the first and last words spoken in this film. No, the movie is not about sex, it's based on Esther Freud's autobiographical novel (yes, that Freud) about nomadic life in Northern Africa in 1972. The title, "Hideous Kinky" is the name of a game the young girls play, much like tag. The very beautiful Kate Winslet plays Julia, mother of two, who drags her two children, Bea and Lucy from London, England in search of a more free and spiritual life. The story is narrated time to time by Bea, the eldest daughter. Julia is married to an English poet and writer, better known to them as the ultimate dead-beat Dad. From small clues, we gather that he is adultrous, a bit of a wash-up, and only offers support to the small family with checks, that rarely arrive when needed. Julia lives meagerly, selling dolls to support herself, but this occupation seems as pitiful as standing on a street corner asking for charity. Her existense is ironic. She and her girls live in a tiny, broken down, prostitute hang-out apartment with little clothing, money, or clean water. They live day by day in search of money or the next charitable helper. While her life seems desperate and chaotic, she is surrounded by some of the most beautiful and colorful culture in the world. Perhaps this is why Julia can not give up her nomadic lifestyle. The cities of Morocco are too enchanting to leave. I found myself constantly asking "Is it worth it? What are they gaining?" She admits to others she has chosen this life. She doesn't want the normalcy of a one room London flat and TV ringing through her children's ears night and day. Instead, in Morocco, she hopes to find keys to a happier afterlife, one with no pain or suffering...but WHO is she living this life for? Her family, or herself? On her quest she encounters romance, spiritual obstacles, and loss. Julia is challenged to choose between her beloved new country or face the "real world" back home. This is not a movie about a young woman's struggle, rather the relationships she has with her lover, children and others that open new and different doors and opportunities. The movie is so visually stunning, you can't help but look at the Marrakech markets and think you might be smelling spices and tasting exotic things. The cinematography really brings you up-close to Julia's lush surroundings. I highly recommend this movie to travelers, romantics, and anyone who loves finding that really spectacular flick that most look over at the video store.
Rating:
Summary: Not your typical Hollywood movie--thank God.
Review: Off-beat, original, and a masterpiece. That is Hideous Kinky in a nutshell. Kate Winslett was once an actress I held in contempt for that horrid movie Titanic. Since then, however, she has redeemed herself. Playing most notably, Ophelia in Branagh's Hamlet, and the delightfully sinful cousin in the adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel Jude. This movie is no exception. Here she plays an English expatriate living in Moracco. She has taken her two small children and the three of them live in poverty waiting on the next check from the children's careless father, who is a poet in England. As Winslett continues her neverending seach for inner enlightenment and her obsession with the sufi, she becomes as neglectful to the children as their father is. It is a tale about a woman who desires freedom, but is torn by responsibility. Supporting Winslet is an excellent cast of unknows. Playing her love interest, Bilal, is Saïd Taghmaoui, who handles his role excellently. Perhaps most impressive are the two little girls. Older Bea, who just wants to be normal, is played by Bella Riza. Carrie Mullan is younger Lucy, who is still trying to understand what her wild life means. Director Gillies MacKinnon does a wonderful job of portraying the foreign landscape and capturing the overall feel of Moracco. Based on the novel by Esther Freud (yes, she is in the direct lineage of old Siggy) this movie is not a typical flick, which is what makes it so nice. A refreshing break from the run-of-the-mill Hollywood movie, this may be the best movie the world never saw.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and Intriguing
Review: Julia (Kate Winslet) is a mother in search of enlightenment and religious discovery (Sufism) -- with her two lovely daugthers, she journeys to exotic Morocco to find what she is searching for. This movie is very well directed, and the performances of Winslet, Said Taghmaoui (Bilal), Bella Rizza (Bea), and Carrie Mullan (Lucy), are extraordinary. For some, Julia will seem to be the worst of the self-absorbed, selfish, deluded, irresponsible mothers of all time. But, as a single mother myself, I truly felt a kinship with her in wanting to give her children a sense of adventure. For all of the characters, adventure is a great teacher bestowing extravagant gifts memorable enough to last a lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: SWHippyF w/ 2 daughters Seeks Spiritual Center
Review: Hideous Kinky is a nice film not trying to be a great British epic. It is a smaller work about a young mother who insists on dragging her daughters around North Africa, mostly Morocco, to find her spiritual center. She is not fully blessed with the maturity to understand how she is throwing her family off center. The cinematography captures the terrain of land and people beautifully. Kate Winslet and the kids create the wonderful illusion of a clueless hippy family that graces and jinxes Bilal's life. I felt like the invisible 3rd daughter whining that I want to go back to England and go to school, but then crying when it is time to repatriate. Waaaaaaaaaaahhhh! I want to stay! Bilal has to be relieved to send me back, too. I would just like to know how I can send him a postcard. I would pair it with the BBC series ÒFlame Trees of Thika;Ó the episode of Absolutely Fabulous where Edina, Patsy & Saffy go to Morroco; ÒLaurel Canyon;Ó ÒAlmost Famous;Ó and ÒThe Sheltering Sky.Ó
Rating:
Summary: Kids say the darndest things...
Review: like "bugger, bastard, and bum" and "Hashish, Ramadan, Akhbar" in addition to "Hideous kinky". The supporting child actresses are very good and threaten to upstage Kate with some of their lines. Perhaps the most telling decision in this movie is to eschew the naively romantic and obvious choice of CSN's "Marrakesh Express" for the soundtrack, instead including the more poignant "You Don't Have to Cry" from the same album at an appropriate point in the story. Worth seeing for the location scenery alone, this film should appeal to eclectic viewers with a taste for the exotic. A glimpse of Kate's lovely feminine attributes is also a plus in my book (this is a movie about children, but not necessarily for children).
Rating:
Summary: a beautiful film
Review: an alluring, thought-provoking film that deals with lush landscapes, both human and geographical.
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