Presented at the Cannes Film Festival in its 65th 2012 edition, nominated 9 times, awarded 3 times, the film describes as the first Great Fiction Post-Printemps Arab and long congratulated by the International Press will be in theaters Parnasse, Le Mondial and Cinémadart from tomorrow, Thursday October 10 and Hannibal El Manar from October 14.
“After the battle”, the latest film by Yosry Nasrallah was in preview of Tunisian yesterday, Tuesday October 8 at Cinémardat as part of the Cinéclub Cinéphile, following an intervention by the director via video-conference.
This is the story of Mahmoud (Bassem Samara), one of the “horsemen of Place Tahrir” which, on February 2, 2011, manipulated by the services of the Hosni Mubarak regime, charge young revolutionaries.
Berth, humiliated, without work, ostracized in his neighborhood which adjoins the pyramids, Mahmoud and his family lose foot … It was at this moment that he meets Reem (Menna Chalaby), a young divorced, modern, secular Egyptian, who works in advertising. Reem is a revolutionary activist and lives in the beautiful districts of Cairo. Their meeting will transform the course of their lives.
Shot in 40 days, without preliminary scenario, as the director specifies, fiction is written day by day, soaking up political events and using the knowledge and the best assimilation of people in the Nazlet district of which make director, writers and actors.
This film testifies to a great ambition to mix fiction and historization, strongly focused on realism. The experimental project would certainly be a new school in Arabic and Egyptian cinema, although written in emergency and lacking in fluidity.
Strong dialogues but more than it takes, a lot of unjustified “revolutionary” sentimentalism and discourse giving the impression of wanting to force the receiver. Very stereotypical characters and staging, too many shots and a lot of ease in the choices of the evolution of events and characters.
Suddenly, at the exit of the room in this pre -first, the opinion is almost unanimous: “It is still early for fictions on the revolutions of the Arab spring … We are still hoping out with documentaries … and again”.
How is it possible that a film congratulated by the greatest European criticisms does not like an anonymous young Tunisian like me? The answer is simple: they did not experience the Arab Spring as I lived with my fellow men.
Hazar Abidi
