This movie portrays the by-now well known problems that face the young men and women in contemporary Egypt, typically in employment and marriage, sometimes in a subtle and very touching manner, through the different stories of its main six or so characters.
The plot is by no mean a new one. The movie quickly reminded me of "Love on Top of the Pyramids" or "Hobb Fawqa Hadhabatil Haram" and many other movies that tackled the same problems. However, this movie does not scream out its message (though I felt it was sometimes directly presented to the audience), as opposed to most Egyptian movies that engage in direct, obvious and repetitive lecturing, where nothing is left to the intellect, let alone the imagination, of the viewer. The scenes of Fat'hy Abdul-Wahab going around throughout the movie with his portfolio, which has failed to get him a job contract, even in the scenes with his new girl friend at night, was enough to pass on a sad, even depressing, message to the audience. Interestingly (for an Egyptian/Arab movie), no words or commentary are offered by the characters on this paradox.
The story line was quite engaging from the very first minute, where the two main characters accidentally met in the midst of their struggle to make a living, each in his/her own different way.
The title of the movie speaks volumes! You don't need to watch it for long to get the feeling that there will be no happy ending to any of its stories or events - actually no ending at all! There's always something missing. The characters (and us) are always left with a sense of dissatisfaction. Unaccomplished goals and incomplete deals. Jamila (or Gamila to say/write it the Egyptian way!) buys an expensive parrot only to find it is a normal, cheap bird and so she cannot sell it for the price she was hoping to sell it for. She works on selling a mobile only for her mother to take hold of it. Almost nothing in the movie works out. The only thing that does, is what hasn't been planned for.
Finally, almost all actors in the movie did a great job, including Gamila's friend in her very first role. Very natural performance!
Well done to a clever director and a very talented cast.
The plot is by no mean a new one. The movie quickly reminded me of "Love on Top of the Pyramids" or "Hobb Fawqa Hadhabatil Haram" and many other movies that tackled the same problems. However, this movie does not scream out its message (though I felt it was sometimes directly presented to the audience), as opposed to most Egyptian movies that engage in direct, obvious and repetitive lecturing, where nothing is left to the intellect, let alone the imagination, of the viewer. The scenes of Fat'hy Abdul-Wahab going around throughout the movie with his portfolio, which has failed to get him a job contract, even in the scenes with his new girl friend at night, was enough to pass on a sad, even depressing, message to the audience. Interestingly (for an Egyptian/Arab movie), no words or commentary are offered by the characters on this paradox.
The story line was quite engaging from the very first minute, where the two main characters accidentally met in the midst of their struggle to make a living, each in his/her own different way.
The title of the movie speaks volumes! You don't need to watch it for long to get the feeling that there will be no happy ending to any of its stories or events - actually no ending at all! There's always something missing. The characters (and us) are always left with a sense of dissatisfaction. Unaccomplished goals and incomplete deals. Jamila (or Gamila to say/write it the Egyptian way!) buys an expensive parrot only to find it is a normal, cheap bird and so she cannot sell it for the price she was hoping to sell it for. She works on selling a mobile only for her mother to take hold of it. Almost nothing in the movie works out. The only thing that does, is what hasn't been planned for.
Finally, almost all actors in the movie did a great job, including Gamila's friend in her very first role. Very natural performance!
Well done to a clever director and a very talented cast.
