Earnest film about a young woman looking to get out from her life in Cairo and not repeat past mistakes. Her sister was pregnant and forced to get married. Her husband is gone and now she has a son she ignores. Her best friend needs to get married so she'll have support but needs to have an operation to look like she is a virgin. Her boyfriend wants to get out of his house and go to Europe where he is sure to make a fortune but isn't sure she should go with him. What happens is the film. I liked the film and admire that it even got made (The producer speaking at the tribeca film festival related the struggle to complete it)but at the same time I didn't love it, partly because the script is uneven, mostly because the performances are uneven. There were scenes where everyone seemed to be in a different version of the same film. Worth a look on cable.
2 Reviews
True depiction of life in Cairo
discard-36 May 2013
Warning: Spoilers
A love story between a Christian girl and her Muslim boyfriend, the film discuss the taboo subject of love across different religions in modern day Egypt with all the added socio-economic factors that makes such love near impossible to survive. Set in a low-income neighborhood of the chaos that is Cairo, Amal, the Christian girl, is torn between staying in Egypt to care for her mother or leave with her boyfriend, Tarek, to Europe in a smuggling boat, where he sees it's the only way to overcome the economic and social obstacles facing their relationship. Adding to her fear is her own brother who also left to Europe, not to be heard from again, leaving behind her Muslim girlfriend, Rania, who is now seeking an operation to restore her virginity so she can marry a much older man. Events outside her control will leave her with no choice as to leave or stay.
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