The film has a sprawling narrative with multiple stories, all taking place within the cultural melting pot of one city — for Paul Haggis’ Crash it was Los Angeles, for Mostafa’s City of Life it is Dubai. The similarities between the two films are nakedly apparent in a pivotal scene concerning a massive car crash. Though City of Life does not break new ground in narrative terms, like Crash (which itself borrowed heavily from Robert Altman storytelling technique), it is sensitively performed by an ensemble cast.

City of Life depicts the lives of a young, privileged Emirati (Faisal played by Saoud Al Kaabi) in the process of discovering his cultural identity, an embittered Indian taxi driver (Basu played by Sonu Sood) that dreams of being an actor and a quietly suffering ex-ballet dancer now a stewardess (Natalia played by Alexandra Maria Lara, last seen in Coppola’s Youth Without Youth). Their lives will “collide” and catharsis will be reached for the audience. Despite the more-or-less conventional nature of the plot, director Mostafa gets good performances from his actors – Iraqi MC turned actor The Narcicyst is particularly memorable as the zippy Khalfan whose character provides a sly commentary on urban Emirati life. Actually, City of Life is most effective when it is honest: without being condescending, Mostafa sneaks in everyday truths of living as both a citizen and expatriate in the United Arab Emirates; and he is savvy to not out to grandstand or preach to the choir. Yet this does not mean the film is free of stereotypes — one character, Guy Berger (played by Jason Flemyng) who is the European “hi-roller” undergoes a dramatic transformation that borders on caricature (brace yourself for a memorable line from him: “I will f*cking break you!”). Then there are those arbitrary montages and time lapses that lend a commercial/ music video feel to the otherwise filmic visual aesthetic of both cinéma vérité and moving camera on steadicam or cranes. Director of Photography Michael Brierley paints the nighttime of Dubai with stunning colors using cool and warm lights, especially during the night scenes; Brierley’s beautiful camerawork is one of the strongest elements of the film.

City of Life is not an art film and does not break new ground in story, but that may not be Ali F. Mostafa’s agenda: he seems to have set out to create a mainstream film that engages viewers emotionally, without undermining their intelligence. The film is the product of a young and talented filmmaker that pays homage to Emirati culture and values, but does not forget to include the rich cultural diversity that exists in his country. Above all, it is fun to watch, which is something not every film in a film festival can lay claim to. A must-see especially for the residents of the UAE.

City of Life had its World Premiere on Dec 11 at the 2009 Dubai International Festival. It was also the opening night film for the 2010 Gulf Film Festival.

WearetheMovies.com is a non-profit website inspiring film discussion and independent filmmaking in Dubai, UAE and across the Middle East. (And we love email.)

WearetheMovies Forum is Dubai’s finest film discussion community.

Che

The Cuban revolutionary leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara was many things to many people. To some (especially those from third world countries) he was an effective and fierce opponent of America’s hypocritical imperialism while for others he was nothing more than a criminal who masterminded violent campaigns to overthrow governments. Whatever your opinion of the man might be, Steven Soderberg’s film, a four and a half hour magnum opus feels truly epic in scope and function. It is a rare cinematic experience because it presents both points of view in two equal halves that complement each other.

The first of the two films is an engaging, highly compelling mixture of pseudo-docudrama, war movie and brisk biopic. We get no scenes of the young Ernesto (for that you would have to see the excellent “Motorcycle Diaries”) and the film dives straight into the period during the mid 50′s when Che and long time ally Fidel Castro charted their plans to rid Cuba of then president Batista. What follows is a detailed, multi-year campaign showing how Che and his rag tag crew of outsiders formed a large scale movement that gained the popularity of the local population. Throughout all this we see numerous times why Ernesto was so influential. Benicio Del Toro he makes the character courageous, inspiring and fearless. Through voice over narration, which are actually the parts of the film that intercut the campaign missions to an interview that Che gave while in New York during 1964, we are almost educated in the ideology of the man’s thoughts and beliefs. If the war scenes provide a frighteningly discerning look at guerilla warfare (in exceptionally crafty scenes of battle), the quieter moments between these battles shed more light into how one man became so influential.

The second film, appropriately called Guerilla is a markedly different film in tone and approach to the character. While the first film ended leaving me thoroughly engaged thinking that the film honoured, almost glorified the work of Che Guevara, the second film becomes almost its anti-thesis. The Bolivia campaign, held half a decade after Che’s success in Cuba, was never able to repeat the successes of Cuba. There were many reasons for this and the film built its case well. Che was considered an outsider, not a native, and thus his strongly held belief that a dissatisfied junta could overpower a corrupt government in bed with US came across almost as arm twisting. Added to this is the unforgiving Bolivian jungle, but also the fact that with help from the US, Che’s opponents were better prepared this time. There was glint of madness in Del Toro’s portrayal of Che in this, the second part, especially when we see him and his men take food from poor farmers promising them a better life. Convinced of their own right, how different were they from modern day terrorists? This objectivity is what made this second film become almost a flip perspective.

If there are two sides to every story, it is almost certain that those who watch Che as two separate films will miss out on the completeness that a back to back watch provides. The achievement of director Soderbergh is monumental not only because of how difficult it must have been to show the same man from different angles (in victory and defeat) but also because the entire film is in Spanish and feels rigidly authentic. As far as pure, visceral cinematic experiences go, it doesn’t getter better than Che.

Che is being released as two parts in cinemas here in Dubai, UAE. We saw it (as it should have been) as one film during the Dubai Film Festival 2008.

Imagine if people start going blind at random. No reason, no warning. It won’t happen to everyone at the same time, but in slow intervals, and everyday this number of people will increase. That is the world in Blindness. Fearing that the disease might be contagious, the government locks the infected in a hospital ward, to control the outbreak. Things are going fine in the beginning. There is food, the ward is clean, there is space, and people are waiting patiently to be cured. But then, more and more blind people are sent in, the ward becomes overcrowded, food supply has to be rationed, and then things go very wrong.

Most people are ready to behave in the way society expects them to. Society has given each culture different sets of rules and regulations to help us lead our lives. While everyone’s ethical code might be unique, it is written by the ethical codes of the community we are a part of. But what happens when the society we are a part of breaks down? Which ethical codes do we follow when the society that gave them to us is changing rapidly? Changes in morality are ever-changing and are usually controlled. But there are great shifts when there is an event that changes the way we live. This can be due to an outbreak of war, the fall of an economy, the destruction of government, a huge natural disaster, and in the case of this film, mass and sudden blindness.

A lot of us read about atrocities in the news or in history books, and we imagine WE could NEVER do that. I believe to a great extent it is our circumstances and situations that dictate our actions, and if we refuse to understand this, we risk not being able to overcome it. Blindness is about such a predicament.

The young girl, Mary, is almost certainly the stupidest child character of 2008. Children in movies, like in real life, are always a bit retarded and act like morons, but Mary’s idiocy is too stupid even for a child. Her mother is driving the car, and she and her older sister are in the back seat (why is the teenager not in the passenger seat? Seems a bit rude to me). The girls are playing an obnoxious game, which is to put their hands over their eyes and guess which car passes by next. The older girl gets it right every time but Mary doesn’t, and the whole family is having fun and laughing when Mary decides to put her hands over her mother’s eyes…while she is driving.

They have an accident, and the mother dies. What kind of fucking child does that? What is wrong with her?

The family sans dead mommy moves to Genova in Italy to start a new life, and the film is about them trying to overcome their loss in the most painfully boring way possible. They go to the beach, go on drives, and occasionally, Mary wakes up crying for mommy. A few times the film teases us with a possibility of something interesting happening (is Mary going to get lose in the forest! The teenager is walking in this seedy alley, will something happen to her!) but all scenes end uneventfully.

Any child that puts her hand over the eyes of a driver deserves a dead mommy. And any family that brings up such a stupid child deserves her.

Hunger is about a man that starved himself to death for his principles. His name was Bobby Sands, and he was an IRA member whom the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher eulogized as ‘…a convicted criminal. He chose to take his own life.’ In this meticulously crafted film, images play a crucial role and expository dialog is at the mercy of economy — yet there is a 17-minute conversation about morality, religion and politics between Bobby Sands and a visiting priest, all shot in one long take from a static camera, that is a touchstone of writing, acting and cinematography. Sound is also important to director Steve McQueen, who uses it most effectively in the wordless third act, as we watch actor Michael Fassender, playing Sands, gradually reduce to skeletal bones before our very eyes.

The British Government is depicted unsentimentally in Hunger, that while does not explicitly takes sides, uses the documented torture of the IRA prisoners by British jailers and the resolute conviction of Sands to elicit strong reactions from the viewer. The closing title card informs us that Bobby Sands, aged 27, died 66 days after he went on hunger strike, and 9 other IRA prisoners followed him to death.

The Wrestler is a devastating film about Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a once-upon-a-time famous wrestler, who now hawks his autographs at poorly-attended conventions, sleeps in a minivan when he cannot make rent, hasn’t spoken to his estranged teenage daughter in years, and is in love with a stripper that charges him $60 for a private lap dance. Old, vulnerable and alone, Randy still wrestles in basement gyms, and has not retired because he has nothing to retire to. Randy is played by Mickey Rourke with an aching sadness in a performance that may move you to tears.

Rourke whose own fall from grace in real life mirrors his tragic onscreen character, may be the most perfect actor for this role. Independent American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, known primarily for his inventive camerawork, delivers memorable visual flourishes (the camera lovingly follows Rourke from behind, mimicking his walk to the ring), but with The Wrestler Aronofsky has also demonstrated his commitment to dialog and actors, using Rourke’s natural charisma as the fuse in an emotionally-charged character study of a broken, lonely man.

Listed are the 5 of the very best movies we saw at the Dubai Film Festival 2008, which may have come to a rousing conclusion, but that only means the countdown to next year’s event has already begun.

#1
The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky | USA | 2008
109 min

This devastating film — the best at the Dubai film festival — about washed-up wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson, features a central performance of astonishing sincerity and charisma by Mickey Rourke, whose own real life mirrors that of his tragic onscreen character. Director Darren Aronofsky exercises uncharacteristic visual restraint and draws out powerful performances that may move you to tears.

#2
Che
Steven Soderberg | USA | 2008
262 min

Che is a tour-de-force of storytelling and filmmaking. The movie, which will be distributed in two parts — Argentine and Guerrilla — was shown as one film at DIFF, separated only by a fifteen-minute break. Both films work perfectly as halves, complementing each other; the first is focused on Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s electrifying campaign to seize Cuba for Fidel Castro while the second documents his unsuccessful Bolivia campaign that ended with his execution. Benicio Del Toro gives one of the year’s most memorable performances in a film that is an anti-biopic, a war movie and a compelling docudrama all rolled into one.

#3
Hunger
Steve McQueen | UK/Ireland | 2008
96 min

This remarkable debut film from director Steve McQueen is both visually arresting and thematically engrossing. About the hunger strike of IRA republican Bobby Sands that ended in his death, it is an unflinching recreation of Sands’ political and personal ideology which you may or may not agree with, but it is hard to deny this man’s steely dedication to his principles. In a film of raw, silent power (there is very little dialogue) the most memorable segment is a 17-minute long conversation between Sands and a priest, filmed from an unmoving camera, placed at vantage point, that makes you want to stand up and applaud. Hunger is an exquisitely crafted film containing a clever, multilayered script, and a compelling lead performance by Michael Fassbender who starved himself for his role.

#4
Song of Sparrows (Avaze Gonjeshk-ha)
Majid Majidi | Iran | 2008
96 min

Is it any surprise that one of the best films of the fest was from Iranian auteur Majid Majidi? Dreary film themes are the hallmark of any film festival, so how refreshing to have Song for Sparrows, a film with so much love for life. Combining good old fashioned storytelling and beautiful imagery, it made us smile, and broke through our fortified wall of cynicism. Full of spirituality, Song for Sparrows is also a study on capitalism and the effect of selfishly accumulating material wealth.

#5
Vacation (Kyûka)
Hajime Kadoi | Japan | 2008
112 min

The biggest surprise at DIFF, Vacation studies, in excruciating detail, the last days of a prisoner on death row in Japan, and how this affects both the condemned and his executioners. It is a meticulously crafted chamber drama with unexpected deadpan humor that provides a counterbalance to the dour subject matter. The performances are uniformly excellent, but it is the depth of the director’s convictions and the precision of skill that makes Vacation absolutely riveting.

Because WearetheMovies.com loves lists (and admit it, so do you) it would have been unfair to highlight only 5 films, especially when we’ve seen so many — so, if nothing else, for that reason alone, we’ve added a sort of an encore to our first five selections. Here are other notable films that just missed our Top 5 list:

Biggest Crowd Pleaser

Slumdog Millionaire
Danny Boyle | UK | 2008
120 min

Made with electrifying energy and effortless in its navigation of deep pits of despair, one could say Slumdog Millionaire almost earns its happy ending. A must-see for fans of the versatile director Danny Boyle.

Most Polarizing Films

Blindness
Fernando Meirelles | Canada/Brazil | 2008
120 min

A grim look at human nature during a blindness epidemic. Based on a novel by Nobel Prize-winning Portuguese author José Saramago, Blindness will provoke you as it uses literal blindness to depict humans’ moral blindness. Memorable for the debates that will follow; some of you will call it cruel, others clever.

Ballast
Lance Hammer | USA | 2008
96 min

An intense and emotional drama from first-time director Lance Hammer, Ballast keeps its secrets close to the chest, revealing them in small bursts that only later form a complete picture. Moody and contemplative, a film that will reward only the very patient viewer.

Best Films Even We Had Never Heard About

Adhen – Dernier Maquis
Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche | France | 2008
93 min

Algerian-French filmmaker Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche creates a sophisticated visual and aural experience in a film that presents the absurdities of religion, capitalism and human nature. The most intellectually stimulating film of the 2008 Dubai film festival.

3 Monkeys (Uc Maymun)
Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey | 2008
109 min

Another visually arresting film from Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan (who makes full use of the digital cinematography), that may also be described as Crime and Punishment- lite.

The results were polled by Faizan Rashid, John Murdoch, Kamal Tolani, Shariq Madani and MADali.

The grand finale of the Festival, the final movie in my schedule was also the movie I enjoyed the most. But it was preceded by two interesting movies such that over the last day of DIFF I had traveled from Japan to Italy and finally, back home.

Genova
Michael Winterbottom | UK | 2008
108 mins

After a car-crash results in a death, the widower and his two daughters move to the city of Genova in Italy to escape the sorrow that haunts their life. As each of them comes to terms with the loss and the new beginning in their own way, the director of the movie takes a turn to show us how the three-way relationship adjusts rather than concentrating on each character’s development. The younger daughter’s night-time crying becomes something for the father to handle. The new sense of rebellious freedom in the elder daughter is more seen from the younger sister and her dad’s POVs. But without getting too dramatic or philosophical, or without even getting too close to the characters, the movie remains an outside view of the small family in somewhat distant, documenting way.

Tokyo Sonata
Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Japan | 2008
119 mins

Tokyo Sonata resonates such simplicity in its telling that it’s difficult to not like the movie. But in doing so, it also becomes victim of over-simplifying many of the issues its main characters face. The story is of a family of four: The husband has just been downsized, the wife is stuck in mundane mediocrity, the elder son doesn’t have any sense of identity and the youngest is a rebel (he wants to play the Piano!). In an attempt to retain his honor and respect at home, the husband hides his jobless status from his family. He dresses up every morning for work, but instead spends the day in the queue for jobless for free food, or job placement. While the first act sets the characters and their dilemmas quite well, it’s the second act where the movie really fails to connect. The younger son’s fascination with his Piano Teacher and the elder’s change-in-career weakens the story-telling before picking up again for a fascinating (and weird) third act, when the situations of the characters open up for all. Some bizarre turn-of-events brings the movie to a close that could be worthy of a rousing applause, but gets an awed gaze of amazement instead.

Slumdog Millionaire
Danny Boyle | United Kingdom | 2008
120 mins

Once in a while you get to watch a movie like Slumdog Millionaire. A well-crafted, well-written tale of destiny and triumph, Danny Boyle and Laveena Tandon take us through three timelines simultaneously in Jamal Malik’s journey from Dharavi’s slums to the Hot Seat of the Indian version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”. Encountering a wave of colorful characters along the way and events that leave lasting imprints on his mind, Jamal eventually plays the game with one purpose – and it’s not winning.

Laced with a wonderful engaging soundtrack by A R Rehman, many scenes of young Jamal are presented with such charm and down-to-earth honesty that you start rooting for the protagonist early on. A few Bollywood actors fill in some of the supporting roles, notable Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan and Mahesh Manjrekar, to bring added vibrancy to a movie set against and for the undying spirit of a city that’s seen it all.

Unfortunately, and in a bad choice by the makers, they have made the movie predominantly in the English language. Those familiar with the city, country or the culture will find it absurd that a boy from the slums speaks with a British accent, let alone that most of the other characters are conversing in English (the cop & his “havaldar” or the “bhai”). This glaring issue aside, the movie succeeds on all accounts as a wonderful celebration of hope, destiny and definitely of Cinema.

______________________________________________________________________

After months of preparation, “the week” started. And now, finally 7 days & 27 movies later, DIFF-5 comes to an end. Luckily, very few of the movies I saw were absolute duds. And although I was lucky enough to see some movies that only helped further my passion for cinema, the year did not bring many surprises – I was not awed by a movie I had not heard much about. But as the year draws to a close, I am glad to say that some of these will make my Top-10 list for 2008.

Yes, one of them rocked my senses alright. Of the four movies I caught on Day# 6, I can safely say that one of them is now the best movie I have seen this year – not just at the festival, but all year through. I did watch the worst movie of the year too. And quite interestingly, these two movies share a common thread. Yes, it was a day of extremes. Read on about them and two more movie screenings I caught.

Hunger
Steve McQueen | UK | 2008
96 min

Bobby Sands, one of the Irish political prisoners of the British, leads his group through a series of protests against the Prison and the British as a whole. It culminates with the lot of them going on a hunger strike. Steve McQueen, the director of Hunger gives us enough time and reason to understand the character and the reason behind the protest, until eventually taking us through Sands’ harrowing journey of torture, defiance and suffering. But he does so silently. The 96-minute movie hardly has any dialogues, maybe four spoken scenes in all. He instead prefers to show us actions, reactions, and counter-actions. He shows us silent plotting and silent protests. We see the wardens’ emotions and the visitors dispair. But hardly any lines. Images of bloody knuckles and nervous riot-police firmly root the movie to a reality that defies disbelief. You have a reasoning behind the purpose (the protests), and hence a concern for the opressed. Effectively, the movie ends up saying so much more than words could have accomplished. But for such word-starved movie, the pivotal scene is the centrepiece 17-minute single-shot dialogue between Bobby Sands and a priest. Before going on hunger strike, the two have a conversation across a table – the camera sits at a vantage point, fixed for the length of the scene. The conversation, in content, manner of delivery, and specifically it’s length, lends such fierce strength to the movie that it transcends wonder and achieves amazement & a hearty applause, and an immersive believability that carries on for the remainder of the movie. Thankfully, it does not overshadow the movie, but rather becomes the integral component to make Hunger one of the best movies of the year.

Kabuli Kid
Barmak Akram | Afghanistan | 2008
94 mins

Such a simple plot, with simple performances and a very simple execution make this one of the easiest screenings to attend. Kabuli Kid is the story of a taxi-driver who one fine evening finds an abandoned baby in his cab. Stuck with a child not his, the movie follows him for the next 2 days trying everything possible to do the right thing: Search for the mum, report it to the police, etc until the issue is finally resolved. Having four daughters of their own and in want of a son, Khaled (the driver) & his wife are also tempted to keep the child for their own. Khaled’s father even suggests naming the boy Moosa (Moses, abandoned by mother & found in a basket). Eventually the movie succeeds in simplistically delivering a slice of daily life in Kabul – an episode from an ordinary man’s life.

Firaaq
Nandita Das | India | 2008
101 mins

Director Nandita Das’ debut feature Firaaq takes place in the aftermath of the Gujarat (India) riots of 2002, a sectarian clash between Hindus & Muslims, and plays out mostly from the point of view of victimized Muslims. A little boy orphaned, an aging Music teacher abandoned of students, a working-class family with a burnt home and a white-collar executives facing his fear of being a Muslim. These chronicles play along the 101-minute run of the movie mostly working as depictions of the different marks of society that the riots had scorched. Among these is a Hindu housewife who is consumed by the guilt of being cowardly and helpless during the events. The intelligent actress that Nandita Das is, she pulls out all plugs to make a preachy movie, and hence sometimes goes overboard with the ‘hate’ angle. Reality could have possibly been worse, but many-a-times random innocent seeming characters act out in absurd spiteful ways that it becomes a prerequisite for the movie’s audience to be aware of the actual riots, its cause and extent. Also, forcing sympathy out of the audience by focusing on a child’s large black innocent eyes is also exploitative – of the child, and the audience.

Blindness
Fernando Meirelles | Canada | 2008
121 mins

How would mankind react to sudden blindness? Not man, but mankind. Apparently, we turn into brutal savages who abandon all rationality and humanity for carnal needs. Plausible? My biggest problem with Blindness, that walks this territory, is that it is a movie that is devoid of humanity. Understandably, the movie does not explore the reasons for the lost eye-sight, but rather explores the human condition. But in doing so, it takes an extreme view of post-apocalyptic savagery that crosses, nay, obliterates most moral boundaries. The filmmakers (in this case the author of the book that the movie is based upon) reveal a severe lack of trust in the Human element (Humanity itself), a complete disregard for logic and a vile imagination of the worst. These three elements together create a confused, contrived and convoluted storyline that is discernibly absurd. Unique visual stylization, which starts as a novelty, soon becomes jarring due to overkill. The final litmus test for this polarizing movie is one question: Would you actually rape/murder if you knew you could get away with it?
p.s.: One of the questions asked during the Q&A session after this movie was: “What did blind people think of this movie?”. Well, I guess we need to ask the deaf people about Micheal Jackson first!

Day#7 tomorrow. One year of wait for one week of movies culminates to this one day, and the last three movies. Among them, one of the most celeberated movies currently in the International circuit – Slumdog Millionaire.

3 Monkeys (Uc Maymun

3 Monkeys (Uc Maymun) is the sort of film, where while watching you realize, everything could be resolved much more quicker (and sooner) if the main characters only spoke to each other. They don’t, for very long portions of the film, and while this is supposed to be the entire point of the film (where an event that occurs is ignored like the proverbial Elephant in the room) it is also is one of the films misgivings. The event that acts as the setup for this is a car accident. Servet, a politician, is the man responsible, but because of his imminent participation in an upcoming election, he asks his driver to be his fall guy, luring him with the promise of regular monthly salary while serving the sentence and a bulk amount on release.

Thing don’t exactly turn out this way. While in prison, the driver’s wife has an affair with Servet, which her son suspects. Tempers flare, first between mother and son, and then between the husband and wife, after he returns from having served his prison sentence. The event quickly turns into a lite version of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, but with deeper issues of unresolved guilt. The film handles this very well, without any frills and with great moody intensity. Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan won a Best Director award at Cannes and it becomes very obvious why. His film is careful and aware of its surroundings and the screenplay is attentive to very many details. In the pivotal scene where the son finds out that his mother lied to him, not only is the setup of discovering this lie an example of a cleverly constructed screenplay but the fact that the family lives close to a railway track becomes pivotal to how this happens. All of these details are very engaging and film not only captivates the mind, but the eyes as well.

For all of its promise though, 3 Monkeys (Uc Maymun) relies on some script incredulity, especially towards the end, to achieve its objectives. What starts off as a maddening joy to look at also becomes ponderous and tiring because of how little it achieves. Silence can be profound and meaningful, and Ceylan understands this well, even making it the point of his film (the title refers to the 3 monkeys rebuffing evil) but perhaps he overdoes it with visually arresting scenes that are in the end, just that, nothing more visually arresting scenes.