October 28, 2022.
by neptune
boy from heaven (LA CONSPIRATION DU CAIRE) **** (in Arabic)
Set in Cairo’s prestigious Al-Azhar University, the most important home of Sunni Islamic theology, Swedish-Egyptian Tariq Saleh’s gripping and eye-opening thriller. Saleh’s spin on this story of both religious fervor and hypocrisy impresses with its intricate script (which won Best Screenplay at Cannes) and superb cinematography of the university’s grandiose buildings, which look perfectly authentic. But actually Turkey and Sweden.
Also, the huge cast of devout students and their teachers make them feel part of all the rituals of the believers.
But what makes the film breathtaking is the use of Adam (Tawfik Barhom), a novice student from the countryside, as a spy between religious leaders and politicians. It’s a personal conspiracy. Adam is picked for his innocence and inexperience and forced to infiltrate the Muslim Brotherhood group at the university. Merciless power play does not stop.With shades of John Grisham’s page-turners and Eastern le Carré thrillers, this is a serious study of the highest layers of manipulation.
LE SIXIÈME ENFANT ***1/2 (in French)
Young French director Léopold Legrand has directed a deeply moving film about two very different couples who are about to have a baby and somehow come together.
One couple has no children, while the other has five children and is expecting another baby (no money). The first couple are both lawyers and wealthy, but the other couple’s breadwinners have just lost their simple jobs and their financial situation is dire. The one thing these four of hers share is her belief in family, which ultimately leads to the shaky decision of the childless couple to illegally adopt their expected child. increase.
This sensitive film, which exudes love on all sides, slowly transforms into a downward spiral thriller. The four main characters play difficult roles brilliantly. Sarah Giraudeau (Bernard’s daughter), in particular, plays a barren lawyer obsessed with adopting her destined child despite her husband’s warnings. This is a moving, beautifully thought-out story that will stay with you for a long time.
L’INNOCENT *** (in French)
How can you combine a family drama, prison thriller and quirky romantic comedy all in one movie?
Not an easy task, but the talented young French actor/director Louis Garrel has found success here with great panache.
When a prison drama teacher falls in love and wants to marry one of the prisoners, her son (Garel) begins to question the wisdom of her decision. Is the companion (Roschdy Zem) really in rehab and trustworthy? And he recruits an old friend who was also his deceased wife’s girlfriend to help him spy on his associates.
When things start to look like a heist is planned, the plot thickens into both a thriller and a kind of Coen brothers’ insane comedy, with flower shops, stolen beluga caviar, and budding romance mixed into the whole equation. Garrel really hit his stride as a director with this clever tale of surprising delight.
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by neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews films extensively for Swiss publications. She watches four to eight of her movies a week and her goal is to sort wheat out of the chaff for her readers..
See past reviews here.
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