Cairo Time

I have always like Patricia Clarkson as an actress. I always felt she was someone underrated and overlooked in the pantheon of fine actors. I admired her work in movies like "The Green Mile", "Far From Heaven", and "The Station Agent" but I didn't become a fan of hers until "Elegy" (which is a movie I highly recommend). I have also been a fan of Alexander Siddig's work as well. He's a very elegant actor and brings a certain dignity to everything he is in. From his TV work on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", "MI5", and "24" to his work in films like "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Syriana" Siddig has never disappointed. So I was excited to find out these two fine actors were going to be starring opposite each other in a complex love story entitled "Cairo Time".

It's a movie set in the hustle and bustle of the largest city in Egypt and Clarkson's character, Juliette flies to Cairo in the hopes of connecting with her husband Mark who works for the U.N. for a much needed vacation. He's in Gaza and he's been delayed in getting to his wife so he asks an old friend and retired co-worker to look in on his wife. That friend is Siddig's character Tareq who when immediately after meeting Juliette offers her something she's denied herself for years. Was it because of her husband or her lifestyle? You never find out but when she does eventually indulge you can see the walls begin to fall and you see Juliette begin to feel free.

Early on Juliette gets herself in some trouble in Cairo. Walking the streets without being "properly dressed" she is almost attacked by the young men who liked what they saw. So much so that they chased her into a store and the proprietor had to shoo the men away. There are other mistakes made along the way along with some matrimonial bickering with the ever delayed husband Mark. To the rescue of possible physical altercations and plain old boredom comes the ever charming and ever graceful Tareq.

A friendship is formed amidst the beauty and the grit of Cairo and as Juliette grows more comfortable with her surroundings, she grow more comfortable with Tareq. She even begins toying with the idea of staying in Cairo. Much in the way the city has, Tareq has grown on Juliette and while she loves her husband dearly, she likes the way Tareq makes her feel beautiful again. She likes the freedom he represents and just when you think she's about to take that step, just when she wants to take that step, she can't.

Written and directed by Ruba Nadda, Cairo Time is a very sweet and heartbreaking love story between two people seemingly happy with the way their lives turned out only to realize they may have missed out on so much more. And while the score is forgettable, the cinematography is not. It captures the beauty of the architecture, the grandeur, and the madness of Cairo in vivid fashion that it feels like you've visited the city without ever getting on a plane. I really enjoyed this movie and would definitely recommend it.

See you at the theater!