michelladoherty

I saw this the first time by accident at a movie theater that had both English and Arabic language movies while in Doha. Because they always had trailers in both languages, I was kind of into the movie before I realized it wasn't a trailer and I was enjoying it and understood what was happening even though I only had "cab ride" level Arabic. I was able to follow the entire movie with no issue and it made me love Egypt a little bit more. I later saw it with an Arabic speaking family who answered a few questions, but it turned out that I had the entire plot down pretty well already. I would definitely watch this again and again if I could. I saw it a few weeks before the revolution. My Arabic students and friends clued me into the Egypt that tourists won't ever understand. Soon after the drama, I moved to Egypt for 6 months and came to love the place more deeply. The govt is again a hot mess (not unlike my own!) but the people are funny and sweet and hardworking and good. I think the movie shows the spirit of Masri people. Good, bad, and struggling to make the best of whatever their circumstances are.