- You know, it’s really easy to fall in love when you’re on vacation in Egypt (or anywhere). One feels sort of bad for Tareq, for whom this affair has become part of his daily life and is not something that can be dismissed through distance or nostalgia.
- Speaking of Tareq, he’s played by everyone’s favourite default movie Arab, Dr. Julian Bashir a.k.a. Alexander Siddig. I kind of loved him in this and would definitely consider having an affair with him if I had a moderately douchey absentee husband.
Sub-point: in reading the IMDB trivia on dear Mr. Siddig, I discovered that Malcolm McDowell is his uncle. The world is small.
- Patricia Clarkson’s Juliette was radiant but also rather foggy, in a semi-permanent Rohypnol kind of way. I think it’s just the character’s manner of speaking, being both deliberate and cautious while simultaneously trying to relax and adjust to her obvious culture shock. I really like Clarkson whenever she shows up in something, so it’s nice to see her in a leading role here.
- One detail I loved was that Juliette did not have the same last name as her husband. They mention his last name several times but then they also make a point of mentioning her own last name (if only a single time). I just thought this was a tiny but important little bit of characterization in the grand scheme of East vs. West comparisons sprinkled throughout the film.
- Loved the part where Juliette was on the bus telling the girl next to her about her just graduated daughter being single and moving out of her parents’ house and the girl was like “And you still talk to her?”, incredulous that this isn’t cause for shame. A similar scene was the one where Juliette told another character how her son eloped and the woman asked “Did you disown him?”, to which Juliette said “Oh, I wanted to!” before realising the woman was serious.
- Tom McCamus is only in the film for like five minutes but gets fourth billing. Also, I’m pretty sure I must have seen him at Stratford at some point in the last fifteen years.
- I’m about 60% sure that you’re not actually allowed to just casually climb the pyramids like that. Also, where are all the tourists?
- Speaking of which, note to the dude next to me who said “I don’t remember the Nile being that wide…”: no one cares.
- It’s nice to see a movie with romance that doesn’t start and end in belittlement and pettiness.
- This movie hits at least three of the things I try to support if I can: female directors, female screenwriters, and Canadian films. Wow!
- It’s really too bad this movie doesn’t seem to be coming out anywhere outside of Canada. It’s apparently only in limited release even here, so who knows if it’s even playing outside of Toronto.
Cairo Time
In the immortal paraphrased words of M.C. Hammer, “Stop, Cairo Time!”
IMDB Plot Synopsis A romantic drama about a brief, unexpected love affair that catches two people completely off-guard.