ALARIS' REVIEWS

21st November 2010
Cairo Time (2009)

Cairo Time is the kind of movie that usually doesn’t hold my interest. Nothing much happens, and then the credits roll. Thankfully, this was just what I was in the mood for.

Juliette Grant (Patricia Clarkson) is an American magazine editor, arriving in Cairo to meet her Gaza-based husband for a holiday. However, when her husband is unable to make the rendezvous due to work commitments, she is left with his local colleague, Tareq (Alexander Siddig), as a guide.

Cairo Time is a nice mood piece, and the key lies in the performances by the two leads.

I have a fondness for Siddig from his days as the puppyish Doctor Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), and was quite crushed when I watched the fate of his tormented Hannibal (2006). Siddig’s Tareq is both aloof and attentive, guarded and charming. His feelings, as they develop, are both poignantly clear, and clearly reigned in.

Clarkson is wonderful as the middle aged Juliette, giving an effortlessly subtle performance as the independent and mild mannered tourist, genuinely interested in the people and places around her.

Both Clarkson and Siddig are beautifully expressive in Cairo Time, and despite the overused and overlong close ups, their performances are a pleasure to watch. I’m not usually a fan of romantic films, and Cairo Time hardly counts, but the delicate chemistry between Juliette and Tareq is almost exquisite at times. The connection between them is like a fragile strand of sugar: barely there, yet at the same time, you desperately hope it doesn’t break.

The rest of the film is fairly ordinary. The depth of field is quite flat, and the directing is extremely functional. The characters and action occupy the centre of the screen most of the time, which has the unfortunate effect of dulling the atmosphere, whether it’s supposed to be a vibrant market or a serene desert.

Cairo Time is a little like a mediocre postcard. The photo is quite plain, but because it’s been sent by a fond acquaintance, it still evokes a pleasant feeling. The film is understated, and the plot is little more than a string of pedestrian holiday events. However, the almost imperceptible relationship between Tareq and Juliette makes Cairo Time an easy, gentle diversion.

Verdict: A pleasant mood piece about a tourist meandering around Cairo.

If you like Lost in Translation (2003), you might like this.

**+