Cairo Time (2009)

Very Cool!!!

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

This beautifully made film from 2009 shows a friendship between two people, Patricia Clarkson (Juliette) and Alexander Siddig (Tareq), that grows stronger despite the cultural differences between the Western woman and her Egyptian host, a friend of her husband. The female lead is visiting Cairo to spend time with her husband, a Canadian who works as director of a UN refugee camp in Gaza. The husband Marc is delayed and Juliette leans on her host Tareq for guidance and support. Both are very refined, professional people with their own careers but it isn't long before we see the differences in upbringing and outlook. Despite the cultural gap, the two are able to talk and confide in one another and fall in love. The love they share is very restrained and never crosses the line into an "affair". Both Clarkson and Siddig give excellent performances. Clarkson, as Juliette, finds herself courting trouble when she decides to explore the city. Juliette goes out and about in Cairo and realizes that she cannot be a tourist as if she were in London or New York. This is where Tareq is able to help her through the dangers of appearing too loose or wandering about in what is essentially a police state on one hand, while young men follow her and try to pick her up, the perils of being a Western woman who dresses as if she were on the streets of a North American city. She also finds herself being singled out by police and asked for her passport. The photography captures the life of the teeming city as well as the dangers living in it. The viewers see the backdrop of the Pyramids, the panoramic shots of the Nile and the desert landscape beyond the bustling city. The pace of the movie is slow and allowed me to observe the beautiful setting and the unfolding characters. Because it moves slowly, it wouldn't be to everyone's liking. Nevertheless, I found the movie very satisfying with its strong dose of beauty and realism.

there are so many differences between Mideastern and western cultures, specially in terms and conditions. you could catch the glory of the emotions between Tareq and Juliet, but you should understand the nature and meaning of "love" in countries like Egypt or (as I personally touched) Iran. love, or it's common synonym in middle east "eshgh", is not just a powerful desire to intercourse of being with lover (also there are some traditional love in oriental mysticism that encourage distance between lovers physically "hejran" so the lovers could mentally united. also, the lover always put his/her beloved in the highest rank of importance beside God. as Rumi said, it's not the matter of "I" and "you" but "Us". love is basically a mental issue in eastern cultures, and it should mirrored in respect, attention, care and unconditioned positive emotions. we saw Tareq that had, once upon a time, such emotions to Yasmin, and have such emotions to Juliet now. he refused Yasmin's letters in past and never write back because of her safety (both emotional and physical, who did not know the price of marriage betrayal in eastern countries?), but he show his real emotions when he heard that mark told Juliet about his emotion to a married woman and letters (both verbal: mark, the betrayer, and acting). so he did the same with Juliet, his friend's wife, a woman with shining smile on her face who cares about him and his feelings (it's obvious that Tareq is a Palestinian immigrant, when he talks about the fortunate trees that grow on their own soil, we can understand about his nationality and diaspora). he is injured, bitter and sad, but never forget to be a true human. that's the point. and if you want to see anything greater in a movie, I have no example for as perfection as I can see in "Cairo Time". puzzles are not obviously in text, but in context. enjoy!

Its a misnomer to say that this movie is about romance or a love affair. I'd presume 'affair' would need some physical contact to be thus termed. Here you have one brief 1/4 of a second meeting of lips that could even be construed as unintended. However, there is no argument about the elegant laid back script. Patricia is perfect - typical well bred western woman a bit out of place in a place thats a world away from hers. Quiet, never giving offense, soft spoken...and sexually aseptic. But thats why the movie is so captivating. The subtle development of a friendship between two temporarily lonely persons,the exotic environs - so common on vacations - leads...well nowhere really. Just as its getting up and going, hte hubby comes along and ends everything, including the movie. In ending, I'd say while this is not everyones cup of tea, its well worth a watch. You'd remember it for a surprisingly long time.

I really liked viewing the scenery around Cairo.But... the plot and execution of the story just make no sense. Juliette (Patricia Clarkson) goes to Cairo to meet up with her husband, but is left stranded in Cairo when her husband has pressing issues to deal with as the U.N. manager of a refugee camp in Gaza. Apparently her husband has been involved in such activities for a long time. One would think that Juliette, would have TALKED to her husband and would have SOME knowledge of the culture into which she is arriving. But NO! Not only that, she is supposedly an editor of a major magazine dealing with cultural issues, and one would THINK, that in that role she would know something about differences in culture. But NO! Juliette in Cairo and has not a clue as how to dress, where to go, what to do or NOT to do. And once she has encountered problems with the way she dresses, she continues to dress inappropriately and violate cultural norms. She even seems to have a new and inappropriate stylish outfit for each scene! How did such a stupid woman get to be an editor of a major magazine? The whole plot is incredulous! Nevertheless, I was actually happy to see the movie and the scenery just not the scenes.