23 August 2013
Ibrahim El Batout's fourth feature wants to be a knowing, poetic dissection of Egypt's 2011 uprising. But its central characters – Amr (Amr Waked) and Farah (Farah Youssef), a liberal, middle-class couple, torn apart, then re-united, by politics and their nemesis, Adel (Salah Al Hanafy), a brutal secret policeman – are too slight to hold our attention. Youssef, who resembles a frowning Jennifer Jones, is an especially frustrating presence. In post-epiphany mode, she whispers, tremulously: “All our lives we've been broken...we never conceived children...all of us must take to the streets.” Egypt's back in the news, but this simplistic film won't help you understand why.
