UNVEILING A BEAUTY OF A TUNISIAN TALE.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

EVERYTHING you always wanted to know about belly dancing (and doesn't everyone want to know all they can?) is touched upon in the enticing Tunisian drama ``Satin Rouge.''

There's more to talented writer-director Raja Amari's debut feature, of course. Too honestly observed and emotionally complex to be classified as a soap opera despite some technically melodramatic complications, it's a terrifically subtle piece about one woman's personal liberation in a patriarchal Muslim society. In addition, this is one of the smartest mother-daughter relationship movies ever filmed.

It's also a relentlessly sexy movie. And this due to, not in spite of, its eroticism of women whose ages and sizes would disqualify them from such consideration in Hollywood - or, for that matter, in Indian, European or Asian cinema. Amari truly sees the beauty in her actresses' souls. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she knows just how to film sensual physical expression, either.

So ``Satin Rouge's'' most striking moments are the undulating ones, especially as performed by the France-based Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass. An intuitive film actress as well as an excellent dancer, Abbass does a superb job of establishing the ever-growing inner and outer lives of her character, Lilia. From the opening shot, in which she compulsively dusts her spotless Tunis apartment then wriggles a few smooth moves to a song on the radio, Lilia's complex personality comes out in action.

Widowed for some time, she survives on sewing work and an occasional payment from the in-laws back in her home village. Her teenage daughter, Salma (Hend El Fahem, terrific), is at the age when she'd rather spend the night at her friends' homes in the suburbs than keep her lonely mom company. And, of course, the girl's interested in boys - or, more specifically, a man, Chokri (Maher Kamoun), who plays the drum for her afternoon dance class.

Correctly suspecting that something is up, Lilia trails Chokri to his evening job at a less-than-reputable nightclub. She expects to find her wayward daughter there (she's not; even though Salma is having an affair with Chokri, she's actually studying with a girlfriend as advertised). What Lilia really discovers is a heady cocktail of syncopated artistry, female empowerment and male attention.

She soon makes friends with the club's blowsy topliner, Folla (Monia Hichri), becomes resident costume designer and, inevitably, takes to the dance floor herself ... much to her own, fun-starved delight, as well as that of the guys in the audience and, trickily, Chokri.

Of course, belly dancing in a dive is not the type of thing proper Arab moms are supposed to do, so Lilia makes an effort to keep her nightly activities a secret from the conservative neighbors and visiting country relations. And in a coy bit of role reversal, she even sneaks out on the sleeping Salma, who of course has no idea that her boyfriend and her mama are developing quite a little secret of their own.

Some viewers will be astonished by the way this unspoken triangle plays out. But however you may interpret it (and there's more than one legitimate way), it seems mighty refreshing, especially coming from a culture we might automatically presume could not accommodate such marvelously unconventional behavior. On a more universal note, rarely has the love between a frustrated mother and a rebellious daughter been so persuasively detailed on screen; Amari never sacrifices the tension and conflicts of a connection as close and dependent as this one. Call it Family Values Dirty Dancing.

On second thought, nah, don't; too glibly reductive. Even if it does follow some tried-and-true plot arcs, ``Satin Rouge'' is one of those rare films that has a unique view of the world and how one woman should make her way through it - with a grace that seems as supernatural as it is exaltedly human.

SATIN ROUGE - Three and one half stars

(Not rated: sex, language)

Starring: Hiam Abbass, Hend El Fahem, Maher Kamoun, Monia Hichri.

Director: Raja Amari.

Running time: 1 hr. 31 min.

Playing: Nuart, West L.A.

In a nutshell: Widowed Tunisian seamstress finds fulfillment as a belly dancer.