The series is a subtly nuanced portrait of a family coming to terms with their grief and loss. Mohamed Farrag as Youssef and Young Ali El Beialy as Mansour deliver a noteworthy performance. The clash of ideals between traditional parenting and modern parenting are cleverly defined in this construct
Catalog review
Title: Catalog
Cast: Mohamed Farrag, Tara Emad, Khaled Kamal, Riham Abdel Ghafour, Bayoumi Fouad, Samah Anwar, Sedky Sakhr, Donia Sami, Ali El Beialy, Retal Abdelaziz, Ahmed Essam Elsayed
Director: Waleed El Halafawy
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 8 episodes
Catalog is a nuanced exploration of grief, modern fatherhood, and evolving family roles. The setup of a contemporary Egyptian family, where the widower father is forced to break out of his gendered shell and become the mother and father to his children, is heartwarming and authentic even though the extreme nature of his cluelessness is problematic.
This Egyptian series on Netflix opens on a haunting note. Youssef, a recently widowed workaholic, returns home with his children, Karima and Mansour, to a space haunted by the absence of his wife, Amina. Her recent death after a long illness has left a disorienting void in the lives of Youssef, and his two children. Youssef, who was never involved in parenting suddenly finds himself set adrift.
Their lives have now become chaotic. You can feel the profound grief enveloping the family. The loss of a nurturing parent is experienced in the children's behavior while the loss of a spouse can be experienced by the utter cluelessness that Youssef displays.
Youssef must now learn to navigate a world his wife was an ace at. The stage is set for an unexpected reckoning, with a life he failed to be fully involved in.
Youssef’s ignorance is profound. He has no clue that Mansour is allergic to ketchup, that the school expects him to pick up his children in the afternoon, he has no clue about the intricate art of tying a ponytail or the precise method for soothing a nightmare, and many other routine tasks that he had taken for granted as his wife’s preserve. The domestic arrangements have a cultural significance here. ‘Man is the provider and the wife, the homemaker’, smacks of an antiquated concept that has no place in modern society, but it exists in many societies across the world. Catalog may not exactly be a strident critique of traditional gender roles but it manages to subtly nudge the protagonist into embracing something that he is traditionally bound to ignore.
Youssef’s brother Hanafi advises him to learn on the job and he certainly tries it - only to feel defeated at every turn. Youssef finally discovers “Amina’s Catalog,” her YouTube channel, which basically is a step-by-step guide to bringing up her children and this becomes his secret tutor. Youssef, watches them in the dead of night in a private ritual where he communes with the ghost of his wife, rekindling memories and experiencing acutely the profundity of loss. Eventually, he learns to be a better parent and a more complete human being.
The series is a subtly nuanced portrait of a family coming to terms with their grief and loss. Mohamed Farrag as Youssef, makes the transformation from bewildered parent to one graciously embracing his role, beautiful and poignant. Young Ali El Beialy as Mansour, also delivers a noteworthy performance. He convincingly conveys a child’s grief with a quiet authenticity that is heart rending.
The narrative theme is quite universal. The clash of ideals between traditional parenting and modern parenting are cleverly defined in this construct of a clueless widower shedding inhibitions and traditional strictures to eventually learn and become a concerned and caring nurturer.
Catalog doesn’t offer anything new or original - what it does is create a poignant portrait of a family in distress. It authentically portrays the process of grief, the nitty-gritty of parenting, family dynamics, legacy and tradition. The characters are all neatly drawn and have validity in expression. In the process we get to experience various emotions experienced by characters from different age groups. The series feels a bit repetitive and the pacing is uneven and slow. Nevertheless, this is a poignant series worth a watch.
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