DesertTalkies Film Reviews!

 It seems as if all I'm doing recently on this blog is apologizing. But I swear I have a valid reason! I have just finished with my mock examinations, and now I have the time to review some of the movies I have been watching. I have watched six in the past weekend, and I'm going to try to publish them all in the next few days. Rest assured, you will be getting plenty of content from me soon.  Rehla 404 [2024] Starring: Mona Zaki, Mohamed Farag, Khaled El Sawi, Mohamed Mamdouh Direction by Hani Khalifa Language: Arabic  I would like to dedicate this review to my friend Gigi: had she not been late to our meeting at the mall, I would not have looked through the synopses of all the movies screening in the theatre. If I had not done that, I would not have found this movie. Given the fact that it is in Arabic, this movie would have totally slipped under my radar if I hadn't off-handedly read that plot. I am not usually one for thrillers, but after this movie, I may consider see...

  Ici Et Ailleurs - Here And Elsewhere [1976] Direction by Anne Marie Miéville, Jean-Pierre Gorin, Kean-Luc Godard Language: French & Arabic I'm not going to lie to you: this movie was difficult to watch at 10pm on a Friday night. It was intensely philosophical, and there were points were I was losing my train of thought. However, I will say this much: when I realized what this movie was really trying to say, I was very impressed. This documentary was actually a perfect complement to the book I have most recently read: Orientalism, a book about how Occidental, colonial views continue to distort how the Near East, or the Orient, is seen globally. The first thing that was interesting about this movie was the parallelism: it documented the intertwined stories of a domesticated French family and a group of members from a Palestinian tribe fighting for independence. It was through this plot where this idea of 'Here and Elsewhere' came in: the movie's point, which I do un...

  Goodbye Julia [2023] Starring Siran Riak, Eiman Yousif, Ger Duany Direction Mohamed Kordofani Language: Arabic It's very rarely that I get to see Arabic movies in the cinema: most of the ones that come to my area are mainstream and not really worth a lot of significant attention. Luckily, Goodbye Julia came to my local cinema, and it piqued my interest. When I found out that it was in the 'Un Certain Regard' section of the Cannes Film Festival, I made my mind. I had to see it. This was the first Sudanese movie I have seen - and I'm going to make sure that this is not the last.  One thing I loved about this movie was the intensity: the intensity of the racial and ethnic divides between the Northern Arabs and the 'Southerners' was conveyed so perfectly. Unlike 'Alam', the desperation for a new state, the desperation of the struggle for a new nation, was done in a way that was strong and powerful. The violence of racism, the police force, and people was d...

  Teta, Alf Marra [2010] Starring: Teta Fatima, Mahmoud Kabbour, Fatima el Ghoul, Eva Sayre Direction by Mahmoud Kaabour  Language: Arabic After watching this, I finally understand what Fairuz is talking about when she sings 'Le Beirut'. All the vivacity and energy of Beirut came through the character of Teta in this lovely documentary.  As is the case with any sort of biographical documentary, the character of Teta was so incredibly cute. Slightly judgmental, no nonsense, and sentimental, she really did capture my heart. And that is a credit to the filmmaker: he managed to so beautifully bring together all the elements of Teta's personality, capturing both her abrasive and lowkey sides.  It is very rarely that I see love in a movie, where I can see how the filmmaker has involved themselves personally with the stories they try to create. This documentary had all of this and more. It helped that the filmmaker was directly related to the Teta in the documentary. As suc...

Alam [2022] Starring: Sereen Khass, Saleh Bakri, Mohammad Karaki Direction by Firas Khoury Language: Arabic I saw this movie in October, but deleted the original review I posted. So I will start this one with a disclaimer. As someone who is an objective viewer of movies, I would like to remain strictly apolitical when talking about this one. With the intensity of recent events in the Gaza Strip, I don't want this blog to be a vessel through which more hate is sparked.  In the UAE, there are large numbers of Palestinians, and few Israelis. Because of the greater Palestinian influence, there is a greater opportunity to watch Palestinian films: I have, to this day, not seen Hebrew movies come to my local cinemas.  This movie was an interesting one, and looking back on watching it, I definitely have mixed feelings. But I'll start with a positive. I see film as being a fitting medium for promoting national identity and a sense of pride. As such, the fact that a country such as Pale...

THE LAST QUEEN [2022] Starring: Adila Bendimerad, Dali Benssalah, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Imen Nouel Direction by Adila Bendimerad & Damien Ounouri Language: Arabic I can't lie: I tend not to enjoy historical films when they are set in time periods before the mid-1850s. I don't know why: it's just a personal preference, I guess. But the timings worked out for me so I went to see it. My only real motivation was the fact that the movie centered around a woman, unafraid to challenge stereotypes. Seeing characters like this on the big screen is always fun - and I am grateful that I dragged myself to see the movie, because it was amazing.  The film, set in early 16th century Algiers, follows the story of the pirate Barbarossa, masquerading as a 'liberator' Aruj, as he tries to convert Muslim land to Christianity. He penetrates into high Algiers society, but, he must overcome obstacles to reach his goal: most notably Queen Zaphira, the wife of the late King Salim Toumani...

  Aziza [2019] Starring: Caresse Bashar, Abdel Moneim Amiry Directed by Soudade Kaadan Language: English Sometimes, it is difficult to imagine that short films can be so powerful - in such a short time it is so difficult to evoke such complex and emotive reactions so a topic. The movie originally started in quite an odd way, where it was very difficult to understand the somewhat crazy back and forth dialogue. However, as it progressed, it melded into quite something quite different: a narrative of fear, attachment, and an exposé about the nature of a migratory experience.  The most interesting element of this movie was the presentation of attachment. The name 'Aziza' came from the name of the car the Syrian couple had. The car, Aziza, was the only remnant of a Syrian life in this new, unfamiliar landscape of Lebanon. It was interesting to see how the entire story advanced in relation to the car - it became a focal point for the couple's relationship, their memories of life ...

  CAIRO STATION [1958] Starring: Hind Rostom, Youssef Chahine, Farid Shawqi Direction by Youssef Chahine Language: Arabic  I live in an Arabic speaking country, and so I am surrounded by Arabic media: Arabic television, film, and music. It seems to be a lot of the same: romance interspersed with family drama (much like the Bollywood of the 1980s-2000s). I was looking through Netflix only to find poorly made Arabic horrors/thrillers, and what seemed like an infinite amount of Romantic comedies. However, when I saw Cairo station and read the description, I was hooked. Black-and-white, 1950s, murder, mental deterioration, obsessive romance? Count me in! (I realise now that I sound slightly strange saying that on here). It only took a little bit of further research to back up my assumption that this movie was miles different to any other Arabic Egyptian film of the time. I guess that this movie had the same effect that Darr had on Bollywood cinema in the 90s.  Setting the mov...

  FOR SAMA [2019] Featuring: Waad & Hamza Al-Kateab Directed & Produced by Waad Al-Kateab Language: Arabic  Is anybody looking for a riveting and incredibly moving documentary? If so, look no further! This was a product of mindless scrolling on Netflix in the wee hours of the morning: I put on a random documentary without even reading the description. I never thought that this documentary would have such a significant influence on me.  I have always been interested in Middle-Eastern affairs, such as the Arab Spring in 2011 and the conflict taking place within Syria. There is very little coverage of Arab affairs in the country where I live, and so seeing this documentary was incredibly insightful.  The world sees Syria as a conflict of numbers: we hear how many people are migrating, and we hear how much of the country’s infrastructure has been destroyed. However, we seldom get to see the human experience behind the conflict in Syria. What made this documentary...