MovieChat Forums > Cairo Time (2009) Discussion > another great review

another great review

posted 15 years ago by vermontfudge
6 replies | jump to latest

Cairo Time (Ruba Nadda)
REVIEWED BY CHRISTOPHER BIRD

One would expect Cairo Time to be something out of the hackneyed "middle-aged lady travels to exotic location and has an affair that rejuvenates her life" genre. Luckily, it's not that at all. Certainly it's a romantic picture: cinematographer Luc Montpelier uses the hot Cairo daytime to good effect, offsetting large chunks of the film in a haze that accentuates the mutual attraction between Juliette and her husband's friend Tareq. But it's not a movie about a grand romantic adventure: it's a movie about dealing with the gradual discomfort of not being home and how one deals with it—its chief emotion is restraint, not abandon. Juliette loves her husband and Tareq respects his friend; there is never a moment where the will-they-won't-they battle is decisively won, one way or the other, until almost the very end. Patricia Clarkson as Juliette manages the rare trick of making a potential betrayal of a perfectly workable and solid marriage sympathetic, but Alexander Siddig as Tareq betters it—he adeptly captures every nuance of inner conflict. It's just a staggeringly good performance, and it should make everybody wonder why Siddig doesn't get more work. It's a slight film in terms of plot, but as an actor's showcase you can't do much better. 4/5

Cairo Time plays the Winter Garden September 13 at 8:30 p.m. and Scotiabank 3 September 14 at 12:00 p.m..

There's also a picture at the link http://torontoist.com/2009/09/tiff_2009_feature_preview.php

[–] kino_vamp 15 years ago

I saw the film tonight at the premiere & I absolutely agree with the review. It was so beautifully done, the performances so richly nuanced & perfect. The romantic tone was perfect as well- not sappy or saccharine, but like a fantasy with it's feet still grounded in reality.

Anyone who's a fan of romance and/or incredible acting performance should get to the theatre when Cairo Time hits the multiplex. In fact, anyone who's a fan of brilliant filmmaking should go along with them!

[–] vermontfudge 15 years ago

Thanks for that! Could you tell what the audience reaction was? Was it crowded? Did the cast attend? Did anyone speak at it? Was the music good? About the audience, were there more women than men? Was the crowd older or younger? Anything you can add? Thanks!

[–] kino_vamp 15 years ago

Audience reaction was very positive from what I could tell- lots of reactions (appropriate ones!) to the action onscreen including some tears & laughter, and a very enthusiastic long applause. It was a packed house at the Winter Garden Theatre; not sure how many it seats but in addition to the stalls there was a large balcony, plus several opera boxes. That theatre was really perfect for the film- http://k53.pbase.com/g3/65/560165/2/57867130.P108039011.jpg Sort of magical. ;p

The crowd was all kinds, as is typical at TIFF (in my experience, anyway)- I noticed many Egyptian-born Canadians who were drawn by the filming location, fans of the various actors, couples, industry people & of course press.

And yes, the cast was there! Several members of the crew were present as well, so there were about a dozen people on stage. I have to admit I've had a bit of a crush on Alexander Siddig ever since Syriana, so I was thrilled when he stepped out... and believe me, he is even more gorgeous in person! Patricia Clarkson looked fantastic in a beautiful black cocktail dress- I think she's one actress who doesn't have to enhance her looks onscreen! The director spoke for a bit, introducing the film & adding that it was the first public screening so she was quite anxious & excited to guage the reaction. She also had high praise for the cast/crew. After the film they didn't do a Q&A, which I was a bit disappointed by, but having just had the luck of seeing them onstage I can hardly complain. I really did want an autograph from Siddig though... I almost never ask for them, but if I'd had the chance... I really think if anyone wasn't in love with him before Cairo Time, they will be after!

While certainly the film is brilliant in terms of performance & filmmaking, I have to say that the music really made it soar. Haunting piano & violin (Loins des villes, by Yann Tiersen) really set the perfect tone- not overwhelming, but certainly adding to the scenes. In addition there was plenty of arabic music to enjoy, which I wish imdb (or someone) would post the information for. If there's a soundtrack, I'll be buying it.

I realize I'm really gushing about this movie, but I really was impressed. I decided to go because of the two leads- Clarkson & Siddig, who I think are both phenomenal actors. So it was a wonderful turn to see not only great performance, but a really delightful film as well. I hope it does well in wide release- if it doesn't, I'd blame the distribution/marketing, not a lack of audience enjoyment. It actually reminded me more than once of Casablanca- epic romance.

PS- I should add that I'm not always a fan of films centred around romance- there's got to be more than a tug at the heartstrings for me to love it! Cairo Time certainly achieved beyond that.

[–] vermontfudge 15 years ago

Thanks so much for your description of the premiere. This movie sounds great. They are both such good actors, I loved Egypt too when I was on vacation there once, I'm really looking forward to seeing this. I loved the music I heard in Egypt too, so I'm interested in the music for this too. I found the press kit for this movie on-line http://stephenlan.com/images/press_kits/Pkit-CAIROTIME.pdf and it includes the movie credits, which includes the songs used in the movie, they are listed on pages 6 and 7. I tried to copy and paste the list, but I couldn't I guess because its a pdf file. At another place in the press kit the director says they were able to get the rights to some classic popular Egyptian music. (wish I could copy that list)

Hope this finds a distributor and gets a US release date soon. Maybe they would release the soundtrack when the movie comes out. Thanks for your details on the premiere! Hope you get a chance to post a review.

[–] kino_vamp 15 years ago

Thanks for passing on the press kit!

I'm sure this film will find distribution in the US. It's being distributed in Canada by Mongrel Media & will be in select theatres in October, so I can't imagine the US release will be far behind.

[–] DogtownGirl 14 years ago

Thank you, once again for sharing this with us.

I hope you got a chance to see the film, by now. It's hit my city in a big way.

The more Ken Loach films I try to see, the more I think they need subtitles!