City of Life (Mostafa, 2009)

[shariqq]

I saw this movie on Friday night, in the best possible way - midnight show with friends who also grew up here and in a screening filled with Emaratis.

What struck me most about this movie: How well the director, cast & crew have captured life in Dubai. Without too many exaggerations, and simplified in some ways, the story-lines of the movie capture the essence of three of the many different lifestyles of this vibrant city. Possibly the most intriguing is the one concerning Emarati youth.

Overall, a wonderful experience, and good production values aside, Khalfan (as played by The Narcicyst) really does steal the show. Given the time, I'd watch this movie again on a weekend in a sold-out screening.

My rating --> 3.5/5

[sandeep]

Capturing the many faces of Dubai, the old and new, the rich and poor, the power and struggle, the reality we see and the reality for many others, this film is bold, plausible and leaves a strong resonance.

For handling the stories sensibly, for getting great acting out of the cast and for integrating all sections of Dubai society so well, this film gets a strong 'must watch' from me.

3.5/5

What saddened me was that the screening was filled with Emiratis, many of whom laughed at key scenes involving Emiratis, which seemed insensitive and inappropriate. Here was a film made by an Emirati, shot in Dubai, keeping all cultural sensitivities in place, yet it was not appreciated.

Ali Mostafa was my junior in Emirates International School, as was Avantika Hari and both have become accomplished directors! He also appears in the DIFF ad and has now made an excellent first film.

[X.]

CITY OF LIFE is getting creamed by IMDb voters. After 119 votes, it is still at 5.3 out of 10. I read a reader review on IMDb that contests the low rating and calls it "entirely unjustified."

We reviewed CITY OF LIFE favorably, and our discerning forum members have had positive reactions to it (above).

Was the IMDb poster who shunned the low rating a desperate friend of the director, a PR rep or a genuine moviegoer?

[shariqq]

afmfilms had a competition for the DVD cover of this movie. 5 Finalists, one winner.







The competition was won by the last of the above images (#5, bottom), designed by Dubai-based filmmaker & designer Ashraf Ghori. Pao Abella's design (#1, top) was judged runner-up.

I must say though, that I like #1 more. #4 also has a very nice use of the Dubai skyline as a border and a better color combination.

[ayaa1977]

I just got to see the film. I found it slick and competent on technical level. On story level, there was one too many  forced coincident.  Bringing all main characters in each other’s life was sloppy and unnecessary, the thread was too visible. That being said, it really did not bother me as much as the conclusion to the story in the last 10 min or so. Giving the three protagonists a happy or at least a hopeful ending was my main issue. Not to mention not having any serious conflict to begin with.  Even the poor Indian taxi driver with stardom dreams, he has a “good” job that he chose to ignore to chase an unrealistic dream. Last I checked Bollywood is in Mumbai not in Dubai. And don’t let me start with the rich Emirati boy and really made up conflict. They could have focused on his existential trouble of having no purpose in life and made a better storyline for him, instead of the thriller in the dessert with the kidnapping and martial art battle which was ridiculous to say the least.  One more thing I didn’t like that much, is that for a film called City of Life, Dubai itself was not really utilized as much as it should have. You got your obligatory shots of skyscrapers and man-made islands, but it comes across as a city with no heart. Unless that is what the director is getting at. No one interested in helping anyone or extending a helping hand. If that is the message of Mr. Mustafa, then message received.

I don’t want to sound so negative, as I said the film was competently made and I was engaged with it to the end. My biggest problem is that I really did not sympathize much with any of its main characters, except perhaps for the guy who collect the trash, and even that one got to get his really happy ending.

My Rating 3/5