Marcel Marceau, the most famous mime in modern history, was a hero – but you'd never have heard it from him. Beloved across the world for his devotion to "the art of silence", as he called it, Marceau's influence was so far reaching that he directly inspired the dance of Michael Jackson, one of his biggest fans.
Before his art touched the lives of people worldwide, Marceau was a courageous member of the French Resistance against Nazi occupation during the Second World War, risking his life to shepherd more than 100 orphans to safety in Switzerland, something the artist rarely talked about publicly later in life.
This movie, in a way, provided me with a link to my past and a link to my culture
Resistance, a new film directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz and starring Oscar-nominee Jesse Eisenberg, brings to life Marceau's heroism for the first time. While there is a rich library of films that cover the Holocaust, Resistance is a personal one for Eisenberg for a number of reasons. He tells The National that diving into this subject matter was an emotional marathon during every day of filming, one he couldn't switch off from when he went home of an evening.
“I lost a lot of family in the war in Poland, and my wife lost family in the war. Her family escaped to Russia, so they lost family that stayed behind … You try to have some link to that part of history because it feels like it’s shaped your culture so terribly.
“This movie, in a way, provided me with a link to my past and a link to my culture, and a link to my grandparents and cousins who all died so horribly. There’s no way to feel anything but horrified by it, but little things like doing a movie about it, in a way, gives me a link to it,” Eisenberg says.
The star wasn’t familiar with Marceau’s work before he began working on the project, but his mother was. In fact, she was a birthday party clown throughout his childhood, who modelled her make-up on the mime artist's, going to see him perform live multiple times. To play Marceau, Eisenberg had to work with mime coach Lorin Eric Salm, one of the late mime's students, who based the film’s choreography on Marceau’s actual routines.
“Like most things, it was really frustrating at first, and then really wonderful. I’m not flexible or agile, but over the course of months, it became something that I loved that I would do without thinking. I would unconsciously practice balancing my weight on one side or doing a certain kind of gesture with my hands. It became one of these wonderful things that I now incorporate into the things that I’ve learnt in my life that are only good for a three-month period of shooting a movie, but that you have affection for later. I have a baby and I incorporate it into the many things that I do to distract or entertain him. He likes it!” he says.
Eisenberg doesn’t know for sure why Marceau didn’t like talking about the lives he saved. “It seems to me that he didn’t want to take credit when it should have been shared. At a time like that, there’s so much heroism, there’s so much tragedy, and there’s so much evil. Maybe he felt that he was one of many, rather than singular,” he says.
It's easy to draw parallels to the way people are responding to Covid-19, with so many heroes on the front line who don't want to be treated individually as heroes. Perhaps, too, it was his initial resistance to the call to heroism that Marceau may have felt guilty about, the same way many do now – a human reaction that the mime artist eventually rose above.
“When the war began, he didn’t know how severe it would become, so he was trying to maintain normalcy, the same way that we are at the onset of this virus. He was reluctant to change his schedule, the same way we were reluctant to change our schedule because of a virus we don’t know the future of.”
'Resistance' releases digitally on Saturday, April 11 iTunes, Google Play, beIN On Demand and OSN Store, as well as all local platforms including du, Etisalat E-Vision, Ooredoo, Vodafone and OmanTel
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
FIGHT CARD
Sara El Bakkali v Anisha Kadka (Lightweight, female)
Mohammed Adil Al Debi v Moaz Abdelgawad (Bantamweight)
Amir Boureslan v Mahmoud Zanouny (Welterweight)
Abrorbek Madaminbekov v Mohammed Al Katheeri (Featherweight)
Ibrahem Bilal v Emad Arafa (Super featherweight)
Ahmed Abdolaziz v Imad Essassi (Middleweight)
Milena Martinou v Ilham Bourakkadi (Bantamweight, female)
Noureddine El Agouti v Mohamed Mardi (Welterweight)
Nabil Ouach v Ymad Atrous (Middleweight)
Nouredin Samir v Zainalabid Dadachev (Lightweight)
Marlon Ribeiro v Mehdi Oubahammou (Welterweight)
Brad Stanton v Mohamed El Boukhari (Super welterweight
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scores:
Toss: Australia, chose to bat
Australia: 272-9 (50 ov)
Khawaja 100, Handscomb 52; Bhuvneshwar 3-48
India: 237 (50 ov)
Rohit 56, Bhuvneshwar 46; Zampa 3-46
Player of the Match: Usman Khawaja (Australia)
Player of the Series: Usman Khawaja (Australia)
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Company%20profile
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SHADOWS%20AND%20LIGHT%3A%20THE%20EXTRAORDINARY%20LIFE%20OF%20JAMES%20MCBEY
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Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
FIXTURES
Fixtures for Round 15 (all times UAE)
Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
