I saw this film a couple of days ago at an art house cinema in Cairo, and was not left disappointed. A very touching film, which doesn't often come out of Egypt of late.
The story follows Kawthar and her father Mokhtar who turns 75. She decides to gift Mokhtar tickets to Italy to meet his former Italian girlfriend, Patrizzia from his university days in Rome. The film follows the entire journey, staring with the arduous task of obtaining a visa (a nightmarish bureaucratic task for Egyptians hoping to travel) and throughout the subsequent trip. The entire movie is shot in an amateurish video cam style.
I rather enjoyed the film. Mokhtar is not only the star, but the most lovable character in the whole film. The movie really captures him in all his (fun/cranky) glory and he is extremely endearing throughout. Moreover, if you're an Egyptian watching this, you will love him as he is very characteristically Egyptian. I think most Egyptians have a relative like him.
The beauty of the movie is the father-daughter dynamic, much more so than the old lovers dynamic or any other. Patrizzia herself is also a very lovable bubbly character, and the older generation totally steals this film in their 'performances'.
My only disappointment in the film was one lapse in logic which put me off. If you try to find someone you lost touch with - in this day and age - the FIRST thing you do is to try to find them on social media. You don't wait halfway into the film to decide to search for them on Facebook, after having paid extortionate airplane, hotel fees and visas and having physically travelled. Fair enough, a portion of the film MAY have been scripted, but I hardly think anyone will believe this particular point - if it was in fact the intention of the filmmaker to put this in for dramatic effect.
Despite my rant above, I would recommend this film. I laughed a lot (especially at some brilliant lines by the father). I would love to see father and daughter in a series/spin off of their own. They are very watchable.
The story follows Kawthar and her father Mokhtar who turns 75. She decides to gift Mokhtar tickets to Italy to meet his former Italian girlfriend, Patrizzia from his university days in Rome. The film follows the entire journey, staring with the arduous task of obtaining a visa (a nightmarish bureaucratic task for Egyptians hoping to travel) and throughout the subsequent trip. The entire movie is shot in an amateurish video cam style.
I rather enjoyed the film. Mokhtar is not only the star, but the most lovable character in the whole film. The movie really captures him in all his (fun/cranky) glory and he is extremely endearing throughout. Moreover, if you're an Egyptian watching this, you will love him as he is very characteristically Egyptian. I think most Egyptians have a relative like him.
The beauty of the movie is the father-daughter dynamic, much more so than the old lovers dynamic or any other. Patrizzia herself is also a very lovable bubbly character, and the older generation totally steals this film in their 'performances'.
My only disappointment in the film was one lapse in logic which put me off. If you try to find someone you lost touch with - in this day and age - the FIRST thing you do is to try to find them on social media. You don't wait halfway into the film to decide to search for them on Facebook, after having paid extortionate airplane, hotel fees and visas and having physically travelled. Fair enough, a portion of the film MAY have been scripted, but I hardly think anyone will believe this particular point - if it was in fact the intention of the filmmaker to put this in for dramatic effect.
Despite my rant above, I would recommend this film. I laughed a lot (especially at some brilliant lines by the father). I would love to see father and daughter in a series/spin off of their own. They are very watchable.
