MovieChat Forums > Cairo Time (2009) Discussion > Spoiler-----her tears

Spoiler-----her tears

posted 14 years ago by Flickfan-3
6 replies | jump to latest

Clarkson's character comes close to tears at several points in this movie--
from frustration, anger, sense of loss, perhaps joy/recognition...

at the end...I have two different perceptions for why she cries in the taxi going to the pyramids with her husband--
one is the loss of possibility to continue the relationship with Tariq whom she certainly seemed to have been falling in love with and vice versa...at the least a strong attraction...

two is the relief/chagrin that she did not transgress and do anything overt that she will have cause to regret...

I favor ONE because that is the romantic/idyllic choice but realistically the odds favor TWO based on everything brought out about her past background and her relationship with her husband and family situation--and how she and Tariq definitely do not see eye-to-eye about certain conflicts/issues revealed in the story...

this woman talks a good game but she has been basically passive her entire married life--taking responsibility for raising her children alone, having a long-distance marriage with minimal contact and obviously no shared career status---
she has been around his other job postings but she had not really "lived" there because they raised their children in Canada and that was where her job was...

she has nothing to hold her back from making the choice to separate from her husband who has certainly placed duty over family for decades except her own choice--
there is no indication that when they finish viewing the pyramids that she will do anything except coexist with her husband once again--and on HIS terms just like before...

but while Tariq is mysterious, chivalrous, intelligent, gentle--he also is Muslim and that is a totally different kettle of fish than she is used to dealing with--he is not even a Western Muslim--
the conflict over the girl from the bus and the delivery of the letter
her attitudes about the social strata in Eqypt and his refusal to consider her point of view--
those just show that they could not exist in a "real world" situation as much as they might be attracted to each other...

Cairo Time just symbolizes a "what if" moment
she was bored, in an exotic location which was slightly hostile, where she needed a man to act as a buffer--she found one who was attractive, intelligent, humorous, attentive, and kind...don't we all wish for that...

"...That's the beauty of argument, Joey. If you argue correctly, you're never wrong..."

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Airini 14 years ago

What a beautiful movie - including the last scene and the tears.

Yes the tears in my opinion have those two interpretations, but so does what she says: "I'm happy I waited". This could simply be a lie, covering for the fact that she already shared that moment with someone else. But it could also be "I'm glad I waited for you to come to Cairo and didn't cross the line with Tariq".

I do not accept cheating of any kind, and this was definitely emotional cheating. But I did love the film... She did the right thing at the end. I don't think Tariq was a realistic choice for her - remember what that woman says about Arab lovers. But at the same time it is true, sometimes you just meet someone that makes you a different person just having met them.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] lamont-hard 14 years ago

Great post...I do agree with most of what you say. There are points where you may be wrong, it is the husband being married to his job. We never really no much of there relationship, she had a job as well and as I remember was into it as her husband was into his. I believe most people meet someone and we feel the grass is greener but most don't just dump there spouses for a dream. It did not state she did not love her husband nor his job was the issue in there marriage. Felt she just met someone and gave it some thought on just what could have BEEN. and it was so beautiful that she had a hard time dealing with it had to end. Very little to do with her being with her husband. There relationship would have had very high hurdles to overcome with the obvious being do i want to leave my husband for this man. That is not easy to do, if he may not be at fault, you just don't up and get with a man like him and expect it would go very smooth. She would have to deal with a broken hearted hubby and having the guilt of if there were problems with there marriage did she try to talk it out with him. witch was not the case in the film. I am trying to say there would have been a lot more than I met this guy and fell in love and needed to be with him. to have gone as far as some posters thought she would do. There were many clues that he gave off they may not have really hit it off, but i won't go into them.

[–] Flickfan-3 14 years ago

This movie is more dream-like than reality--

IF she had decided to change her life and marry Tarik she would never have been able to fit into his life in Cairo--
as a Western woman/non-Muslim/divorce there would be so many negatives tied to her backround that she would have been a pariah within that culture

too much of the animosity to Western women in particular and women in general was omitted from the film
the fact that she made so many errors in how she dressed/expected to be treated within that culture and did not receive the real-world consequences gives viewers the totally wrong impression and coats the entire experience with some faux sweetness that would melt in light of reality

frankly after reading about the news reporter who was assaulted during the street riots by anonymous men in her area there--and the other comments that came to light about how women can be treated in Cairo
I don't think any rational woman would want to live there unless she would be willing to give up sense of personal identity and submerge herself in the repressive Muslim culture
Patricia Clarkson's character had been molded to become a very independent, self-sufficient woman (even if she really did not want that) because her husband basically abandoned her for most of his career to live away from home on certain postings--understandably she wanted a closer connection with him--and he seemed deliberately obtuse about what she wanted

But how could that type of woman find happiness living in a culture that demands she relinquish her freedom/her innate selfness to live a new life where she would really need to be "subserviant" to males--and that is what Muslim culture in Cairo seems to be about
no marriage/relationship could really compensate for such a huge transfer of power
and make no mistake--that is exactly what she would have been expected to do to get along in their culture

"...That's the beauty of argument, Joey. If you argue correctly, you're never wrong..."

[–] lamont-hard 14 years ago

As you could see in her body language she does not express her feelings very openly. I got the feeling as he was gone and she into her work that was where there marriage was. It was both of them not giving the time they should have been giving to each other. He did not abandon her with his career no more then she abandoned him being a workaholic. They appeared to not truly no what they were doing to each other. I'm not saying the husband was perfect, but we never know just what has or hasn't been discussed by them. Diplomats are home for long periods of time, she may have been to busy to give him what he needed from her. That is all left up to the viewer. For most love stories to work the viewer needs to know why and in this film they never say. everyone is thinking it was the husband with the issues when It could have been her. She may not have not wanted to even consider being his wife but only his friend, the same as he....We just don't know enough to make so many interpretations based on what was given.