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IMDbPro

Cairo Time

  • 2009
  • PG
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
7K
YOUR RATING
Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig in Cairo Time (2009)
A romantic drama about a brief, unexpected love affair that catches two people completely off-guard.

Juliette, a fashion magazine editor in her 40s, travels to Cairo to meet her husband, Mark, a UN official working in Gaza, for a three week vacation. When he is unavoidably delayed, he sends his friend Tareq, who had been his security officer for many years, to escort her throughout the beautiful and exotic city. The last thing anyone expects is that they will fall in love.
Play trailer1:56
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DramaRomance

A romantic drama about a brief, unexpected love affair that catches two people completely off-guard.A romantic drama about a brief, unexpected love affair that catches two people completely off-guard.A romantic drama about a brief, unexpected love affair that catches two people completely off-guard.

  • Director
    • Ruba Nadda
  • Writer
    • Ruba Nadda
  • Stars
    • Patricia Clarkson
    • Alexander Siddig
    • Elena Anaya
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ruba Nadda
    • Writer
      • Ruba Nadda
    • Stars
      • Patricia Clarkson
      • Alexander Siddig
      • Elena Anaya
    • 69User reviews
    • 88Critic reviews
    • 67Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 2 nominations total

    Videos2

    Cairo Time
    Trailer 1:56
    Cairo Time
    Cairo Time
    Clip 2:15
    Cairo Time
    Cairo Time
    Clip 2:15
    Cairo Time

    Photos44

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    Top cast50

    Edit
    Patricia Clarkson
    Patricia Clarkson
    • Juliette Grant
    Alexander Siddig
    Alexander Siddig
    • Tareq Khalifa
    Elena Anaya
    Elena Anaya
    • Kathryn
    Amina Annabi
    • Yasmeen
    Tom McCamus
    Tom McCamus
    • Mark
    Mona Hala
    • Jameelah
    Fadia Nadda
    • Hanan
    Mohamed Abdel Fatah
    • Customs Officer
    • (as Mohammed Abdel Fattah)
    Hossam Abdulla
    • Porter
    Nabil Shazli
    • Manager
    Ahmed Ghareeb
    • Propositioning Man
    Hanafi Mohamoud El Gazar
    • Shoe Shopkeeper
    Roanne Bell
    • Sharon
    Andrew Cullen
    • Jim
    Katie Sherif
    • Petroleum Wife #1
    Michelle Power
    • Petroleum Wife #2
    Sarah Farouk Ahmed
    • Petroleum Wife #3
    Ibrahim Abdullah
    • Mohammed
    • Director
      • Ruba Nadda
    • Writer
      • Ruba Nadda
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews69

    6.66.9K
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    Featured reviews

    Jawsphobia

    See it with whoever is handy

    Cairo Time could be the solution to the date movie, so subtle and full of empathy it has no time for anything that might embarrass the person you are with and you'll have something to talk about later. I saw it alone for logistical reasons, but from the middle of the second row it was quite emersive. I'm no Cairofile; all I know is that the place has pyramids and a funny word for the water pipes they smoke. Those things are touched upon, but the movie avoids becoming a travelogue. Patricia Clarkson (The Green Mile) arrives for a vacation with her United Nations honcho husband Mark only to find he isn't there. He'll be busy in Gaza for a while (which is never played for a joke although we get the idea that settling things in Gaza could take a while). Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) a former co-worker of Mark meets her instead and acts as a guide where he can. He would show her the pyramids right away, but she has promised her husband to see them for the first time with him. We might be able to guess where this is heading, but the surprise is that scenes that might not read as 2009 ADD generation content is actually loaded and engaging. We are waiting for tea to steep and not getting bored. Clarkson takes on more of a glow as the movie goes on, but in the early scenes it is her character Juliette's vulnerability that has our focus. A bunch of random flirtations from guys on the street might be a minor irritant in the USA or Toronto's Annex neighbourhood, but here there is a growing sense of jeopardy which reinforces the bubble of trust Siddig's character creates. For another character to burst that bubble by violating the camera frame with a sudden lunge from the teaming masses would be a shame, an intrusion of reality. And yet the film is very realistic as to the unexpressed aspect of life that can turn a bland setting into a postcard perfect image depending who you are with. The director Ruba Nadda spoke after the Varsity cinema screening I attended and it is remarkable that amid the strategies needed to pull off this movie she managed to maintain such a subtle focus. It is nice that also Christine Vachon's brand is there as a producer to suggest how subtlety in a movie might even be considered quirky. But it definitely has the patience and quiet faith in detail that mark Ruba Nadda's previous movie Sabah. I would love to read a diary publication about the making of Cairo Time. From content to execution it is apparently a film only Ruba could have made - it has both ethnic trappings with gravitas and an accessible romantic, dramatic structure of entertainment.
    7noran_1987

    that's not all Cairo

    the movie was really good Um Kalthoum's great songs were amazing background music for the movie and Abdel Halim Hafez's too, the marvelous sites of Egypt and the sound of the Adan (the call for the Muslim prayer) all were fantastic...but as an Egyptian there were some stuff that were not realistic to me.

    First was the accent of Tarek in the movie it wasn't Egyptian at all..

    Second it only showed the crowded messed streets of Cairo and describing Cairo as "such a mess" disappointed me as an Egyptian living in Cairo, it didn't show the neat sites like Maadi, Heliopolis or Zamalek which the hotel supposed to be located at, which I believe must be a five stars hotel being by the Nile yet bizarrely the receptionists were not working at night which was extremely weird and doesn't happen at any place in the world!!!

    Ruba Nadda wanted to convey a specific ancient image of Cairo but this can't be the whole image about Cairo now,, that movie would be realistic but 50 years ago..
    5passsing

    Quite boring

    I'm sorry to say this because I adore Patricia Clarkson but this movie is boring, the script seems forced, some characters like Elena Anaya have no sense and doesn't bring anything to the story.

    The acting was good and the scenery breathtaking but it just doesn't work and is all very predictable. And to me it appeared that there weren't much chemistry between the actors.

    After half of the movie you keep wondering just how much more can you take without falling asleep. But still I don't regret seeing it because it's quite rare seeing Patricia Clarkson as a lead and she surely does not disappoints.
    10gimmedavidb

    A Truly Beautiful Film!

    Cairo Time is an exquisite feast for the eyes, ears and eventually, the heart. Ruba Nadda takes us on a tour of Cairo which flows so well because it appears complete even down to such minute details such as showing street children selling bobby pins, a wild motorcycle driver nearly hitting the film's heroine, and Egyptian hit songs playing on a taxi's radio. In contrast with the high energy scenes of Cairo's bustling city life are dreamy, beautifully composed shots of the city's classical architecture, the Egyptian pyramids and The White Desert, all which give the impression that they are frozen in time. But, the time in Cairo Time is hardly stagnant. The film's stunning images, rich music and moving love story about a bored workaholic Canadian married woman whose passion for love and life is awoken by her relationship with a Egyptian man interplay so beautifully that the film appears seamless. Patricia Clarkson (Juliette) and Alexander Siddig (Tareq) convincingly play a couple whose professional relationship transforms into a love relationship over time. Both actors show off their fine acting skills by expressing the characters' love for each other through their subtle uses of body language and eye contact. Each views the other as a kind of "forbidden fruit", yet neither one can hide their desire for the other. The quiet intensity of their passion is almost deafening. Cairo Time works because it does so well what many other contemporary films don't do. It takes you to another place and time, one of the main reasons we go to the movies.
    8claudio_carvalho

    Delicate and Sensitive Romance for Mature Audiences

    Juliette Grant (Patricia Clarkson) travels from America to Cairo to meet her husband Mark (Tom McCamus), who belongs to the high echelon of UN and is settling refugees in Gaza. On the arrival, Juliette is welcomed by Tareq Khalifa (Alexander Siddig), an Egyptian that had worked with Mark and now is retired.

    Mark has a problem in Gaza and can not come to Cairo, and the gentle Tareq invites Juliette to sail in the Nile and visit the pyramids. Juliette learns that she can not walk alone on the streets of Cairo since she is offensively harassed by the male locals, and she sightsees the city with Tareq. The proximity with her husband's friend and his attention to her make Juliette too attracted for Tareq. Will they have a love affair?

    "Cairo Time" is a delicate and sensitive romance about companionship evolving to romance for mature audiences. Immediately after watching this pleasant film, I said to myself: this is certainly a film directed by a woman… and I was right. The sensitiveness of the director and author Ruba Nadda is impressive.

    "Cairo Time" has magnificent cinematography and locations and the underrated Patricia Clarkson is excellent and with a perfect chemistry with Alexander Siddig. The music score is very beautiful and the conclusion of the affair of Juliette and Tareq is stunning. My vote is eight.

    Title (Brazil): "Meus Dias no Cairo" ("My Days in Cairo")

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Although playing an Egyptian, Alexander Siddig hails from Sudan (although his mother is English).
    • Goofs
      The position of the women during the wedding sequence changes constantly.
    • Quotes

      Juliette Grant: I always wanted to be a singer.

      Tareq Khalifa: What stopped you?

      Juliette Grant: My voice.

    • Connections
      Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Despicable Me/The Kids Are All Right (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Let's Go
      Performed by Catlow

      Written by Natasha Thirsk and Brian Carson(SOCAN/ASCAP)

      Published by Dirtmitts Publishing

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    FAQ19

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 16, 2009 (Canada)
    • Countries of origin
      • Canada
      • Ireland
      • Egypt
    • Languages
      • English
      • Arabic
    • Also known as
      • 開羅假期
    • Filming locations
      • Shepheard Hotel, Cairo, Egypt
    • Production companies
      • Foundry Films
      • Samson Films
      • Astral Media
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,603,616
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $66,245
      • Aug 8, 2010
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,477,315
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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