Cairo Time (2009)
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81% of critics liked it
(77 reviews) -
60% of users liked it
(4,353 ratings)
Juliette (Patricia Clarkson), a magazine editor, travels to Cairo to meet her husband, Mark (Tom McCamus), a UN official working in Gaza, for a three week vacation. When he is unavoidably delayed, he sends his friend Tareq (Alexander Siddig), who had been his security officer for many years, to… More Juliette (Patricia Clarkson), a magazine editor, travels to Cairo to meet her husband, Mark (Tom McCamus), a UN official working in Gaza, for a three week vacation. When he is unavoidably delayed, he sends his friend Tareq (Alexander Siddig), 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. Cairo Time is a love letter to a city intertwined with a love story about a woman. It began when Syrian-Canadian writer/director Ruba Nadda first visited Cairo with her family many years ago. Returning a decade ago with one of her sisters, (and no longer under the protective eye of her father) they had memorable adventures. "The city was beautiful and the people were beautiful," Nadda recalled. Having lived in Damascus, and subsequently traveled the world, Nadda never forgot the grandeur and the chaos of this ancient city that was originally settled in Paleolithic times. Sitting at the border of what was once Upper and Lower Egypt, the area that was to become the metropolis of Cairo has played host to the Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, the Ottomans, Napoleon, and the British and is now one of the most densely populated cities in the world. "I remember the city being alive. It's gritty and historical and seething with humanity and I just had to capture it on screen." Truly, a journey through Cairo is a journey through time and it awakens your soul. It was during Nadda's many trips to international film festivals with her 14 short films and her previous feature, Sabah, that she came to appreciate the feelings of introspection and melancholy that traveling alone engenders. From these experiences came Cairo Time, something Nadda deems a "real love story, but one that is very un-West because to me the West is about acquiring, accomplishing, deadlines and running, running, running. The central character, Juliette, is suddenly forced to slow down and move on Cairo time." This film has a West-meets-East quality to the unexpected, unrequited love between an Arab man and a North American woman. It's also a throw to old style, classic films reminiscent of the restrained, emotional tension in the work of Jane Austen. Juliette is a woman who married young and still ardently loves her husband, Mark, who works abroad. Their children have grown up and moved away. Life, doing what it usually does to a marriage, has replaced their hopes and dreams with accomplishment and responsibilities. In the back of her head, Juliette had thought that sooner or later, she and her husband would have time for each other, which was the reason for her trip to Cairo. "I love this woman," explained Nadda. "She is quiet. And she has a sadness that's just under the surface which comes from a lifetime of being by herself a lot because she's been stood up by a husband whose work has often taken priority." Unable to meet Juliette when she lands, but knowing that she is an independent woman who is likely to head off on her own, Mark asks Tareq to care for her. For years, Mark had trusted Tareq with his own life, so it made sense to extend that trust to Juliette's wellbeing. Once at the hotel, Juliette is alone again. Unwilling to wait quietly for her husband's arrival, every effort she makes to venture out on her own is rebuffed. Cairo is not a gentle city. With a population of 17 million, the noise is unbearable. The heat, mixed with dust, is oppressive. Traffic does not adhere to lanes or stop lights. And women, particularly foreigners, do not easily move about in public alone. Quickly, Juliette learns that the simple activities of everyday living in Canada, like walking across the street, become a test of wills in Cairo. And so she turns to Tareq who shows her first, Cairo, and then herself. -- (C) Official Site
- Directed By
- Ruba Nadda
- Written By
- Ruba Nadda
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Art House & International
- In Theaters
- Aug 6, 2010 Limited
- Studio
- IFC Films
Critic Reviews
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Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
The lovely twilit moments in this movie stay with one, and that summoning them up in your mind is like slowing down time.
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Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Clarkson lights up Ruba Nadda's stately drama Cairo Time like the moon on a summer night, making every moment luminous with quiet, resigned longing.
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David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle
Confirms two things that hardly need confirming: The Egyptian capital is a breathtaking metropolis, and Patricia Clarkson is one of the best actors in the world.
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Rob Nelson, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Cairo Time proves hard to resist, the film's familiarity gradually giving way to a playfulness that feels new to the impossible-love subset of bourgeois melodrama.
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Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
Cairo Time: Take the time to see it.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Patricia Clarkson
as Juliette
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Alexander Siddig
as Tareq
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Elena Anaya
as Kathryn
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Amina Annabi
as Yasmeen
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Tom McCamus
as Mark
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Mona Hala
as Jameelah
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Mohamed Abdel Fattah
as Customs Officer
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Hossam Abdulla
as Porter
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Nabil Shazli
as Manager
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Fadia Nadda
as Hanan
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Ahmed Ghareeb Hanafi
as Propositioning Man
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Mohamoud El Gazar
as Shoe Shopkeeper
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Roanne Bell
as Sharon
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Andrew Cullen
as Jim
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Katie Sherif
as Petroleum Wife #1
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Michelle Power
as Petroleum Wife #2
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Sarah Farouk Ahmed
as Petroleum Wife #3
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Abdullah Ibrahim
as Mohammed
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Ibramo Wafik Aboul
as Driver
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Seoud
as Abu Hamedi
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Magdy Hafez
as Magdy
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Vincenzo
as Caucasian
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Nagham Osman
as Najah
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Ahmed El Ashry
as Waiter
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Magda Thabet
as Amira
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Robert Pandini
as Italian Man
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Mariam Mikiwi
as Italian Woman
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Ahmed Abu Seda
as Winking Arab Man
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Sherif Attira
as Internet Man
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Khouloud Kamel
as Suha (8 year old
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Mohamed Shahin
as Israeli Soldier
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Heba Hammad
as Young Chambermaid
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Esraa Atef-El Shenawy
as Young Carpet Weaver
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Ibrahim Salah
as Israeli Officer
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Amr Abul Nasr
as Male Party-Goer #1
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Cosima
as Female Party-Goer #1
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Uta
as Female Party-Goer #2
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Nader Basyouni
as Male Party-Goer #2
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Radi Ali Ahmed
as Call to Prayer Imam
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Tarek Hariri
as Bus Driver
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Miso Kontrec
as Stunt Scooter Driver
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Roee Sharon
as Samira
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Eman El Nagar
as Female Stunt Driver
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Abdel Hameed El Belkassy
as Taxi Driver
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Gigi
as Ukrainian Belly Dancer
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Mariam Aboul Magd
as Young Blushing Girl
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Hesham Saleh
as Young Greenskeeper
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Mohamed Waleed
as Carpet Shop Owner
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Wagif
as Cartouche Shopkeeper
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Hesham Abou El Magd
as Groom
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Daniel Iron
as Groom

