The selection of Gal Gadot for the role of "Cleopatra" raises the "tweeters" storm in Egypt
Cleopatra was not an Egyptian queen in the traditional sense, but she chose to be Egyptian by passion, and although she is classified as a Greek-Macedonian race, she learned the ancient Egyptian language, and her only loyalty to the state that ruled her for more than two thousand years, as Cleopatra is the seventh of the most famous Queens in the history of the Macedonian family, which ruled Egypt for three centuries, and their rule ended with the Roman occupation.
The news of the portrayal of Israeli actress Gal Gadot sparked a wide debate on social media, as commentators were divided between supporters and opponents, and some tried to explain why Gadot alone chose this role in more than one way. For her part, the actress who served in the Israeli army celebrated her choice to embody Cleopatra, with phrases indicating that she had been dreaming about this since her professionalism.
Gadot: I will present the Queen of Egypt in a way like no other
Gal Gadot, 35 years old, was born in the Israeli town of Rosh Haend to a conservative Jewish family proud of its nationality, and entered the artistic field as a beauty, as she was Miss Israel in 2004, and represented her in the Miss Universe contest. In her comment on "Instagram" about her selection by Paramount Pictures to embody the role of Queen Cleopatra, she indicated that she considers the Queen of Egypt an important project in her career, and expressed her happiness at embodying the role, and wrote more than one post in this regard.
"Cleopatra is a story I wanted to tell for a very long time," she said, "I couldn't be more enthusiastic and grateful."
Gadot made it a "feminist" by linking it to the International Day of the Girl, the celebration of which coincided with the announcement of the project, and emphasized in what she wrote that the film tells about a prominent queen, and that she as a young actress is its hero. Egypt has reached the big screen in a way it has never seen before. We will tell its story for the first time through the eyes of women, behind and in front of the camera, and we are especially pleased to announce this on the International Day of the Girl. "
Compared with Elizabeth Taylor
The announcement of Gadot's reincarnation, which will soon be shown in "Death On The Nile", and some of its events in Egypt, for the role of Queen Cleopatra, who was distinguished by beauty, wisdom and emotional adventures as well, and her biography is full of drama that tempts the makers of any work of art, was met by a storm via "Twitter" , As the protesters expressed their dissatisfaction with the choice of an Israeli actress for the role of a queen who ruled Egypt, while the supporters considered that the matter is superior to the heritage and culture in Egypt, as the imposition of Egyptian history on the global artistic scene, and the interest of major production companies to take periods of it, is not harmful.
Model Omar Sharif Junior considered the idea of the project positive, and said that he is excited to follow the film, denounced the angry opinions, and wished that the work would be of the required level, reminding everyone that Cleopatra was not Egyptian, through several posts on his Twitter account.
For his part, art critic Andrew Mohsen believes that the idea of Gadot's choice of the role of Cleopatra bears many question marks, for example, that she as an actress has modest talent, and will immediately be compared to the late international star Elizabeth Taylor's famous movie "Cleopatra", which she presented in 1963, and obtained Four Oscars, which is not in her interest at all.
He added to "The Independent Arabia", "Gadot toured far from anything a moderately talented actress, and her roles are nothing brilliant, but director Patty Jenkins is good, so her choice of Gal is considered strange and unjustified, and with regard to her being an Israeli and the role of a woman who ruled Egypt, the matter is It seems stranger, especially since a movie toured with "Wonder Woman" was banned three years ago in Lebanon, due to voices opposing the screening of a movie in cinemas in Lebanon, whose heroine is Israeli.
Where is the Arab business about Cleopatra?
Mohsen confirms that the matter is not a coincidence, of course, as international production companies carefully study the circumstances of each choice, and have data on all the circumstances, and touched upon that there is no important and important Egyptian film that deals with the life story of Cleopatra despite her wealth, while international cinema is always interested in her, and the time that She was comically embodied in several scenes in the movie "A Teenager's Diaries" by Inas El-Deghidi in 2001, and the Syrian actress Sulaf Fawakherji presented the role in a television series in 2010.
Successive crises and the reasons are the same
This controversy comes more than two months after a similar controversy made the announcement of launching the name Planet of the East, Umm Kulthum, on a street in the Israeli city of Haifa, as protests emerged on social media, rejecting the matter, and it also coincides with the wave of give-and-take about the selection of the French actor Gerrard of the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. Depardieu for granting him the Creative Achievement Award in the fourth session of the festival, which will be held at the end of this October. Calls for a boycott of the festival increased for choosing to honor the artist, who was known for presenting artistic works promoting the Israeli settlement practices, and this rejection was translated through a strongly-worded statement signed by a number of directors and actors, while the El Gouna Festival administration has neglected to respond to the controversy so far. Two years ago, the Cairo Festival administration canceled the honor of the French director Claude Lelouch after a campaign against this decision, due to his inclinations in support of Israel's practices against the Palestinians.
