So you want to buy aflam...

The plural version of the word "film" or "movie" is pronounced "aflam" in Arabic. And while Yemen is considered more of a closed country, don't be fooled. You can buy movies here no problem - Indian movies, Saudi movies, American movies, etc. We saw a poster a few days ago for what I think was an Arabic version of James Bond. The title was "Rashad 007." Classy. Of course, you're buying films the only way they're available in much of the world - high-quality bootleg copies (and yes, "high-quality" is a relative term). No copyright laws here, my friend. No quality control either.

BUT you get movies with Arabic subtitles, which can be a nice way to learn new Arabic words. So a friend and I decided we wanted to pick up a movie on our "friday night" (which is really on Wednesday). We stopped at a store in the old city and flipped through some books of film covers. The selection of American movies at this particular store wasn't extensive, but it was ecclectic. We settled on "I Am Legend" (ahh, Will Smith, I have missed your pretty face), Madagascar (it would be some fun vocabulary!), and another title that we still can't remember. (And maybe you can guess which direction this story is now headed...)

We pointed out our selections to the nice store owner who was so excited to have Americans in his store that he started showing off all the pictures on his computer from all over Yemen, apparently not believing our story that we already loved Yemen and didn't need to be convinced that it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. After about 5 or 7 minutes, he had finished burning our movies on a few DVDs and we paid the tab of four dollars. Off we went to enjoy our evening!

So, funny thing. Okay, back up. Sometimes, in Yemen, you just have to shake your head and mutter "la af-ham" - "I don't understand." That will be another blog for another time. We get back and start reading the titles on the DVDs. One says, in English, "I Am Legend." Actually, two DVDs say that. Okay. The other two have titles in Arabic. After staring at the one for a few minutes, we finally decided that it said "Disney." For some reason I didn't think Madagascar was Disney but I could be wrong. The other title no one could figure out. And since we ironically could not remember what other movie we purchased, we figured we would be pleasantly surprised. So that's the DVD we popped in first.

After watching about five minutes of an action scene that I quickly attributed to the latest "Fast and the Furious," an action scene that clearly was not at the beginning of the movie and which we initially mistook for an ad of some sort, we realized that we had nearly the whole film of the Fast and the Furious...with Arabic subtitles and I *think* maybe not the final cut of the movie? A little confused because we knew that wasn't what we asked for, we began to fast forward...and realized that this DVD was six and a half hours long. Then we realized that it didn't just contain the Fast and the Furious - it included four movies, none of which we ordered. But we now have the Fast and Furious (or most of it), Dragon Hunter, some strange Spanish film, and another movie that I don't remember, all with Arabic subtitles. Huh.

We tried Madagascar - aka "Disney." Laissa Madagascar. Instead, we got Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Aladdin and the Return of Jaffar, Looney Toones Strikes Back, and two other animated features - these, with no subtitles. We watched Alladin.

And then we checked out I Am Legand. Wouldn't you know, it was exactly what we ordered. With Arabic subtitles, so that was great. But the film is what, an hour and a half? And they split it between two DVDs.

So yeah, I don't really have a whole lot else to say on the matter. But if you're interested in a film with Arabic subtitles, let me know and I'll pick one up for you. Of course, who knows what you'll get - but it might be a fun chance to take.