Clash (Eshtebak) (2016)

Wow wow wow! This movie was incredible. What a pleasant surprise! It was so intense and rich in character. It is an intricately woven story that borrows from real life drama. The politics is super interesting by itself, but the human element adds a dimension of emotion to this movie. You sympathize with these characters and you feel for their country. And the drama is very natural, the conflicts between the people in the truck are very believable. It is politically charged and this colors the narrative.

What stands out most obviously is the style, shot entirely from within a truck. The camera must have been really small and portable to navigate in this small space between so many people. It makes you feel claustrophobic just watching. There is a light that hangs in the center of the truck that I'm assuming has a microphone hidden inside of it. They film sometimes from the perspective of the characters looking out the windows through a grate, and moving from window to window to follow the action outside. But the camera never leaves the inside of the truck itself. They stuff so many people into this little space and it is hot and everyone is irritated and fighting with each other. Maybe this comparison is inappropriate, but it's like 12 Angry Men with much higher stakes.

The way in which they stage the exterior riots is stunning. There are a lot of extras who are quite well choreographed throwing rocks and molotov cocktails and pointing lasers. It feels like an authentic representation of what Egyptian streets were actually like following the most recent military coup. Everyone is on high alert and no one is safe. In fact, one of the most interesting dynamics is between the Muslim Brotherhood and the army supporters in the truck, and then the two American journalists. Their relationship is constantly shifting from the benevolent to violent. And ultimately this is the force that drives the film into its climactic and emotional ending. Overall, a very rewarding experience.

I waited in line by myself for about an hour and a half to make sure I got into this movie. Now I know I didn't have to get there so early. I was second in line, but we get last priority as Cinephile badge holders. I was afraid I wasn't going to get in when they stopped the lines, but it turned out that there was plenty of room. They were just really slow seating everyone. We watched the cast walk the red carpet, though we didn't know it was the cast at the time. They seemed very down to Earth, just happy to be there, representing Egypt on a big stage (though Egypt probably doesn’t appreciate the representation).