Right after the 25th of January revolution, Egyptians experienced what it feels like riding a rollercoaster blindfolded. A ride that definitely got their adrenalin going, blood pressure high and led to countless political family debates. Some will get into vicious-circle disputes about which approach is better and which one yields fruitful results for the country not knowing that by stepping into such a zone, they plaster the adjective “judgmental” on their foreheads. Without a shred of doubt, Egypt is still suffering economically and many fear that the current political unrest will eventually cause full-scale clashes.
Clash (Eshtebak) is the recent film that not only stirred controversy in Egypt but over the world too. The film is written by Mohamed and Khaled Diab while being directed by the former. A pair who once before collaborated together on the script for Al-Gazira (The Island) film.
In essence, Clash is not a film done to portray the society’s stigma of despising the Muslim Brotherhood nor it’s done to prove the brutal side of the police when dealing with the protesters rather it is about hysteria in general, a word many of us hear yet only few understand the real meaning behind it.
The 97-minute film is shot inside a deportation wagon in June 2013 that is fully loaded with Egyptians who are divided into pro-Muslim Brotherhood and those anti the organization during the time of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsy. The entire film depicts a real-life scenario between the detainees who are locked up in the deportation wagon while touching upon anger, religion, emotions, fear, terror and the Egyptian status quo.
Between the religiously bearded men and the pompadour haircuts of a few others, two women stood out. Nelly Karim, a kind-hearted nurse who, throughout the film, remedies the injuries of her husband as well as others. Also, Mai El Ghaity, who portrayed a 14-year-old reserved school girl who convinced her old man to protest with her until they were both shoved inside the cart. Surprisingly enough, the script is written in a way that guarantees many humorous annotations to lighten the overall mood a bit.
The ferocious antagonism between the oddest grouping is what stimulates most of the conversations that were later recorded by one of the detainees as a feeble attempt to document most the fights, reconciliations, ups and downs that occurred inside the cart and also the harrowing shootings that killed a high-ranking policeman and left the detainees wriggling through to the other side while petrified from the gunshots.
Aside from the brilliant ensemble acting, the cinematography left the audience gaping especially towards the concluding scene, one that got the Diabs a standing ovation. Moreover, the movie’s soundtracks that played in the background when things got very intense and during the hand-to-hand battles and during the recurred moments when the detainees showed indescribable hostility towards their neighbors.
Remarkably, the film isn’t made to get the audience to side with a faction over the other, rather it is a one-of-a kind thriller that puts the spotlight on what post-revolution chaos does to nations, the disoriented, in particular.
Since we couldn’t find a better way to put this, we quoted Tom Hanks, after he sent Mohamed Diab the thank you note, “If there’s anyway you can see CLASH by Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, you must. You simply must. The film will break your heart, but enlighten all.”
Happy Watching!