Hideous Kinky

Hideous Kinky follows Julia, a young Englishwoman in 1972 who leaves London and a failed marriage behind and takes her two daughters, eight-year-old Bea and six-year-old Lucy, to Morocco. Settling in Marrakesh, the three live cheaply in a rundown hotel, getting by on small sums sent by the girls' father and on dolls they make and sell. Julia is searching for spiritual renewal and a different way of life, and the arrival of Bilal, a Moroccan street performer with a questionable past, draws mother and daughters alike into his company and deeper into the local culture. The freedom the family finds comes with difficulties as well as attractions.

Gillies MacKinnon directed the film, his second feature after Small Faces, from a screenplay by Billy MacKinnon, with Ann Scott producing. Kate Winslet plays Julia, Saïd Taghmaoui plays Bilal, and Bella Riza and Carrie Mullan play Bea and Lucy. The production, a British and French co-production, cost about 12 million dollars and returned roughly 1 million dollars worldwide.

Audience response has been moderate: on IMDb the film holds 6 out of 10 from about 7,200 votes, and on TMDB 6 out of 10 from around 100 votes. A critics' rating of 6.1 out of 10 from 52 reviews places critical opinion close to the audience scores.