Mohamed ElGohary

I went to the independent movie festival for bloggers event tonight. Maybe I have some reservations on the "independent" expression since this just opposes the idea of the art itself, like some kind of discrimination, though it can be OK in a way or another.

There was 5 movies, 4 short and a long one.

Before talking about the movies, I just want to state that I'm not a professional as I may sound, I do not study drama, but I have special interest in the mutual influence between drama and the society which you find here in Arabic.

The first movie: "Sabeel El Seghar", which means "The children's drinking fountain". I don't know if I have to explain the idea of the movie, but I'll try not to do that :).
Director: Omar Khaled.

My opinion and critique: The director wanted us to love the life of these children, with all its rich details, though I still think that the movie had two separate "life scenes" for which the director did not succeed in connecting them in an appropriate way (in my opinion), only if the goal was not the story line, but the details. I also liked the symbolism of the love of the children of each other in the end of the movie.

The second movie: "Azraq wa ahmar", which means "Blue and Red"
Director: Mahmoud Soliman

Feedback: well it gave me a feeling of a try to justify pre-marraige relations as a short "ranged" solution to the problem, against the difficulties opposing marriages these days. I still see the problem is with the family and how the couple need to fight traditions in the frame of religion, not out of it. Religion is NOT controlled by any human, and for any human to claim control over religion, he is not connected to this religion, from my own perspective. (The movie didn't talk about religion I know, but the thing is I don't see that approach as a solution).

The third movie: "Youm El Etneen", which means "Monday"
Director: Tamer Sa'eed

Feedback: The movie recorded a very special moment. I really loved the harmony achieved between the married couple. So human and touching. We really need this type of romance, not that usual romance we see everyday in drama.

The fourth movie: Maxim, which is the name of the Egyptian-Greek hero of the movie.
Director: Mohamed Rashad

Feedback: I felt that the director wanted to express that rigidity of feelings in the form of being deeply religious against the idea of being free, free from some kind of traditions, makes the religious person just curse the free person. From the perspective of being jealous, or just complaining the obscenity from their perspective. These feelings were expressed in the repeated phrase: he is a devil, but God punished him.

The man just loves life, he has some passion for French style in everything, being it in language, ladies, life in general, (Though he is supposed to be Greek). I also sensed some of kind of homosexuality in the scene when he was near the bathroom door while the young dude was having a bath, I don't know if I got the right feeling.

While the same background in the Monastery (I don't know why it was translated to the word Minister, it is totally different), the same scene comes in flashes while moving in the rich life of Maxim, again expressing the traditionalism of religion, which in my opinion destroys any religion and transform it from a rich relation which makes life better and better, to a form of rituals done for the heck of it. A rigid form opposing any kind of change.

The long movie: "Ithaki" (It is the Greek name for a poem written in 1911, in Egypt)
Director: Ibrahim El Batoot

This is a new way of approach. Combining documentary and drama in one movie. In my opinion this gives a unique richness. For it overcomes the problem of lack of information. Esp in this movie where it tackles unusual professions and positions in the Egyptian movie scenes. So the director compensated this lack of information by the giving it in the documentary approach. The movie is so rich, so full of emotions. It is just so full of life.

I felt from this movie: is that every person fights his war. And that this is the most important thing in their opinion.

Really thank you for this movie.