Denzel Washington raises controversy in Tunisia by playing the role of Hannibal of Carthage
A new film about the character of the Carthaginian military leader, HannibalIn a new film that will be shown soon on the Netflix platform, it will raise great controversy in Tunisia and in the world.
American actor Denzel Washington will play the role of this historical figure.
The events of the new cinematic production revolve around the most important battles that Hannibal fought in his wars against… Roman EmpireAccording to what Netflix revealed on its page on the “X” website.
Denzel Washington and Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Equalizer) are teaming up to tell the story of Hannibal – regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in history. The film will cover the pivotal battles he led against the Roman Republic. Coming soon to Netflix! pic.twitter.com/KInIjkagSV
— Netflix (@netflix) November 13, 2023
Many international websites have expressed interest in this new artistic work, which is causing great controversy in the Tunisian arena on many grounds, perhaps the most prominent of which is the fear of some parties about the possibility of “distorting some historical facts about the life of the military leader Hannibal.”
The “Hollywood Robert” website stated that the task of writing the film’s script was assigned to John Logan, a three-time Academy Award winner, who previously wrote the films “The Aviator” and “Gladiator” by Ridley Scott, and the direction will be By Antoine Fuqua.
Hannibal was one of the most important military leaders in the history of the Carthaginian state, and he achieved many achievements in his life, perhaps the most important of which was his besieging Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, for 15 years and almost overthrowing it, according to what some historical sources confirm.
Hannibal was born in the city of Carthage, one of the most important tourist areas currently in the capital, Tunis, in the year 247 BC. Early in his life, he joined the Carthaginian army before becoming its commander, in the year 221 BC, and this was after the killing of his sister’s husband, Hasdrubal the Fair.
This film is the first film to immortalize the biography of this military leader, despite the great weight he enjoys in the history of this Maghreb country, knowing that many calls have been made by several parties to create an artistic work about the role he played in preserving the Carthaginian Empire over many years. Therefore, despite the criticism, Tunisians greatly welcomed this first work of its kind.
On the other hand, some Tunisian activists launched a campaign on social media in which they criticized the “Netflix” platform project, and some of them expressed their fears that many important events in the life of the military leader Hannibal would be marginalized or distorted.
The journalist Samir Al-Wafi wrote on Facebook, “The giant international actor Anthony Quinn played the role of Omar Al-Mukhtar in the famous movie that bears the same name and was directed by Mustafa Al-Akkad, may God have mercy on him… Quinn excelled in reincarnation, adaptation, and embodiment until he became a real Arab in the movie despite his Western features… and he mastered embodying the character’s spirit and accuracy.” Its details even while he is silent.”
Among the commentators were those who criticized the owners of the new Hannibal film project due to their choice of actor Denzel Washington, who has African origins, considering that “the matter does not fit the appearance of the white-skinned leader Hannibal,” as they said.
In this context, blogger Boulbaba Nasiri published a post on Facebook in which he expressed this rejection and said that the matter is not related to racism in any way, but: “The idea that Hannibal was “black” is not true. “It is associated with the same activists with African orientations and African nationalism who are trying to prove that these people, like the ancient Egyptians, were from Africa.”
