Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Cairo Time Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 30, 2010

Winner of the Best Canadian Feature Film award at the Toronto International Film Festival, Ruba Nadda's "Cairo Time" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Canadian distributors Mongrel Media. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with director Ruba Nadda and cinematographer Luc Montpellier; making of featurette; conversation with director Ruba Nadda, Patricia Clarkson, and Alexander Siddig; and the film's original theatrical trailer. In English, without optional subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Alexander Siddig and Patricia Clarkson

Canadian director Ruba Nadda’s Cairo Time tells the story of two people who have not been in love for years. Both have had successful careers but have not been satisfied with their personal lives. Both are in their late 40s and have stopped dreaming. One of them is from Canada, the other from Egypt.

Juliette (Patricia Clarkson, Pieces in April) arrives in Egypt to meet her husband, Mark (Tom McCamus, The Sweet Hereafter), who works for the U.N somewhere in the Gaza Strip. At the airport Juliette is greeted by Tareq (Alexander Siddig, Syriana), her husband’s ex-bodyguard, who immediately informs her that Mark is yet to arrive in Egypt. On the way out of the airport, the two meet Yasmeen (Amina Annabi), a woman Tareq was once madly in love with, who invites them to her daughter’s wedding.

Tareq helps Juliette get to her hotel. On the following day the two go out and have coffee together. Tareq immediately impresses Juliette with his manners. A few hours later, Mark phones Juliette and tells her that it will be a couple of days before he gets to Cairo. He also asks her not to visit the pyramids so that they could later on see them together.

Juliette decides to explore the city on her own but quickly changes her mind after a group of young men begin harassing her immediately after she leaves her hotel. She meets Tareq again and asks him if he would be willing to spend more time with her until Mark arrives in Cairo.

During a visit to a chic late-night bar, not too far away from the pyramids, which a lot of foreigners like to frequent, Juliette meets Kathryn (Elena Anaya, Sex and Lucia). The two have a pleasant conversation. On the following day they head to the White Desert where Kathryn tells Juliette about a man she met and fell in love with years ago but could not keep.

Tareq sees Juliette again and offers to show her the real Cairo. As they explore the city, the two begin to realize that there is a lot they have been missing in their lives.

Cairo Time is a quiet, old-fashioned film about a man and a woman falling in love and then realizing that they could never be together. Because they are from two very different worlds, and with the best years of their lives behind them, both are incredibly relaxed about their affair.

Cairo Time lacks heavy melodrama and powerful climaxes. Everything that happens between the man and the woman is incredibly pure and honest – there is strong attraction between them but no sexual tension. As a result, their affair is incredibly beautiful to behold.

Director Nadda has convincingly captured the timeless allure of Cairo – an ancient yet modern, beautiful yet remarkably poor city – which greatly contributes to the charm of her film. The footage from the White Desert is also very impressive.

The acting is excellent. Clarkson is spectacular as the aging beauty willing to give love a second chance. It is Siddig, however, who transforms Cairo Time into a special film. He looks elegant and extremely dignified, a man any woman would love to be seen with.

Note: In 2009, Cairo Time won the Best Canadian Feature Film award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Earlier this year, the film was also screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Cairo Time Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ruba Nadda's Cairo Time arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Canadian distributors Mongrel Media.

This is a strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is good, clarity pleasing and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme does not disappoint either; yellows, reds, blues, greens, browns and blacks are rich and well saturated; overall, the film has a distinctively warm look. There are a couple of scenes where I noticed mild edge-enhancement creeping in, but macroblocking is not a serious issue of concern. There are no serious stability issues. Generally speaking, excluding some light banding during a few of the desert scenes, the image looks notably healthy and fresh. Finally, while viewing Cairo Time I did not see any disturbing marks, stains, cuts, or large debris to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Cairo Time Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English Dolby Digital 5.1 and French Dolby Digital 5.1. For the record, Mongrel Media have not provided optional English or French subtitles for the main feature.

I am slightly disappointed that Mongrel Media have not included a loseless audio track of some sort on this Blu-ray disc. Cairo Time is complimented by a wonderful music score, courtesy of Niall Byrne, which certainly would have benefited from a strong loseless treatment.

The English Dolby Digital 5.1 track is satisfactory - the dialog is clean, crisp, stable and exceptionally easy to follow. The rear channels are active, and effective, but the dynamic amplitude of the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track is somewhat limited.

I tested only a few scenes with the French Dolby Digital 5.1 track. My impression of it is that it is quite dry - and ineffective. Though I did not detect any serious technical flaws to report in this review, I strongly recommend that you opt for the original English audio.

(Note: There are a few lines of Arabic in the film that are subbed in English. The subtitles appear inside the image frame and are imposed).

Cairo Time Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

On Cairo Time - a wonderful conversation with director Ruba Nadda, Patricia Clarkson, and Alexander Siddig in which they discuss their work on the film, their impressions of Cairo, the characters they play, etc. In English, not subtitled. (26 min, 480/60i).

The Making of Cairo Time - in this featurette director Ruba Nadda explains how Cairo Time was shot, what are some of the challenges her team had to overcome while shooting on the streets of Cairo, etc. In English, not subtitled. (8 min, 480/60i).

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

Commentary - in this audio commentary director Ruba Nadda and cinematographer Luc Montpellier discuss the production history of Cairo Time, the story it tells, how specific scenes were shot, how the script for the film came to exist, etc. In English, not subtitled in French.

Cairo Time Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Canadian director Ruba Nadda's Cairo Time is a beautiful, old-fashioned romantic film with fantastic performances by Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Canadian distributors Mongrel Media, looks and sounds very good. My only minor complaint about it is that it does not offer a loseless audio track. Still, Cairo Time is a wonderful film and well worth owning. RECOMMENDED.