City of Life (2009)

A privileged young male Arab at odds with his cultural identity and his less fortunate street smart friend; a disillusioned Indian taxi driver who bears an uncanny resemblance to a famous ... See full summary »

Director:

Ali F. Mostafa

Writers:

Jonny Brown (screenplay), Ali F. Mostafa (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Alexandra Maria Lara, Sonu Sood, Saoud Al Kaabi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alexandra Maria Lara	...	Natalia Moldovan
Sonu Sood	...	Basu / Peter Patel
Saoud Al Kaabi	...	Faisal
Jason Flemyng	...	Guy Berger
Natalie Dormer	...	Olga
Yassin Alsalman	...	Khalfan (as Yassin 'The Narcisyst' Alsalman)
Ahmed Ahmed	...	Nasser
Javed Jaffrey	...	Mr. Khan (as Jaaved Jaaferi)
Susan George	...	Constance
Habib Ghuloom	...	Faisal's Father
Ahmed Abdullah	...	Rashid
Saleh Al Dhahiri	...	Abdul
Har Taimor	...	Abdul's Brother
Nitin Mirani	...	Kashmiri Cabbie
Abdulaziz Al Kaabi	...	Rich Friend 2 (as Abdal Aziz Al Kaabi)

Storyline

A privileged young male Arab at odds with his cultural identity and his less fortunate street smart friend; a disillusioned Indian taxi driver who bears an uncanny resemblance to a famous Bollywood star; and a former Romanian ballet dancer now working as a flight attendant and searching for love and companionship ... these individuals all live in Dubai and their lives are about to collide for better or for worse in a city where ambition, growth and opportunity are encouraged and dreams can still manifest. "City of Life" is an urban drama that tracks the various intersections of a multi-ethnic cast, examining how random interactions and their consequences can irrevocably impact another's life. As the name suggests, City of Life's inordinately humane kaleidoscope of converging experiences introduces a city that is in itself a living pulsating character. "City of Life" ultimately reveals how unexpected tragedy and loss can lead to hope and profound transformation as it explores and ...

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Plot Keywords:

taxi driver | dubai | arab | west | struggling actor | 

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Taglines:

Every day you can change another persons life without ever knowing it.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

United Arab Emirates

Language:

Arabic English Hindi

Release Date:

23 September 2010 (Kuwait)

Also Known As:

Dubai álmok

Filming Locations:

Dubai International Airport, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Afmfilms, FilmWorks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Natalia is from Bucharest. Alexandra Maria Lara, who played her, was born in Bucharest but her family fled Romania when she was a kid.

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Connections

References Khoya Khoya Chand (2007)

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Soundtracks

Get Me Out
Performed by Jonas Desai
Produced by Reiner Erlings

User Reviews

Must watch if you know Dubai or if you don't!

I went to see the movie last night and I was very pleasantly surprised. The movie depicts well the real Dubai. The characters painted feel so real that sometimes during the movie I was reminded of people that I have crossed during my time in Dubai. For people who don't know Dubai, a character or two might seem 'cliches' like the British playboy or the Russian pretty girl who is only interested in men with money... but those that live in Dubai know that these people do actually exist here, probably more than anywhere else.

The writers managed to make all the characters seem true and move the viewer. City of Life portrays a diverse and vibrant city and a message of compassion seem to emanate of it. On top of that it gives an opportunity to see the lives of groups of people that you don't see in reality like Emiratis and gives us a chance to understand each other better.

I really invite you to go watch it.