Thanks for the memories!

A Disappointing Continuation

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

An example of concept triumphing over delivery. Ruba Nadda has a lot she wants to say, but only raises signposts towards those ideas without really exploring any of them. Best moment: Alec Siddig acknowledging Patricia's superiority in a game of chess ... which, like everything else in this film, goes unresolved.Otherwise: Banal dialog, many loose threads, and an annoyingly empty protagonist make this a 90-minute wait where not much really happens. Banal dialog? 50% of Patricia's dialog consists of "I'm fine", "Yes, "No", OK" etc. "I'm fine" alone is said some dozen times or more. Loose threads? One example, of many: she spends a day with a girlfriend who characterizes all Arabic men as possessive in relationships ... a theme never developed or returned to. Neither is the friend; she simply disappears, as do all characters besides Siddig's.Here's a tip for Americans traveling abroad: when armed soldiers stop your bus, and the person sitting next to you -- who you only just met -- frantically pushes an envelope into your possession, it's probably very dangerous to accept it. Does she? Is it? What will happen? Is this an Alfred Hitchcock film? Well, here's my "spoiler": Absolutely nothing in this film leads to anything. There are no causes, no consequences, no changes nor efforts to do so. No story. Beautifully filmed though. And you do get to see the Pyramids (and even climb them, which is not actually permitted in real life).6/10 for Alec Siddig, locations, photography.

I absolutely loved this movie. I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did as I had never really heard anything about this film. The "relationship" between the two main characters is so subtle yet powerful. I loved the beauty of the movie. Simple romance. Great date movie. Both characters are very likable. The actress who plays Juliette is beautiful in a classic sort of way. The actor who played Tareq was fantastic! This movie is not action packed but I did not find it boring at all.I have been to Cairo years ago while backpacking with friends and I loved recognizing many of the places I had been. Egypt and the Egyptian people are beautiful. Cairo definitely feels like you have one foot in the present and one foot in the ancient past. This film made me feel like that again. Great Canadian production.

Left alone in Cairo when she arrives to visit her United Nations employee husband, magazine editor Patricia Clarkson is desperately lonely since he cannot escape to see her due to an on-going crisis in the Gaza Strip. Clarkson, a quiet and dignified middle aged lady, is still very attractive, and is swept away by the torrid (and sometimes lecherous) attentions she receives from younger men in the streets of the city. To escape this, she begins to spend time with her husband's Egyptian pal (Alexander Siddig), a gentle soul who runs a coffee house and offers to show her around. Having promised her husband not to visit the pyramids until his return, Clarkson strives valiantly to keep that promise, but after several moonlight dates with Siddig, may break that vow as they find a kinship after attending the wedding of one of his old lovers' daughters.With the fury in the press between Americans and the Arab world, it is breathtaking and heartwarming to see the world of Islam that is filled with love, hospitality and a curiosity of the outside world. Clarkson shows great love for her new world and its people as she gives a young Egyptian girl a hair clip, trades confidences with a young student, and learns the truth about Arab men from a young lady who warns of their possessiveness yet admits that they are excellent lovers. In the case of Siddig, you never learn if he falls into either stereotype, but his gentility is only surpassed by his charm. Clarkson and Siddig are both excellent, and as you begin to root for them (even praying that the M.I.A. husband doesn't show up!), destiny occurs.There's a brief bit of cultural clash (Clarkson being taken off a bus while on her way to the Gaza strip) but nothing violent or anti-American occurs, only the hope that her urge to explore the world outside the safety net of her own society with the hope that understanding can lead to world peace.

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")