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Reviews
Monsoon Wedding (2001)
Brilliant!
Wow. I knew this was a great movie, but after finally seeing it I'm glad it didn't under-deliver. Only meaning to watch a few minutes to get a general feel for the film, it drew me in from start to finish. The characters are well written and just as beautifully played. The plot starts nice and subtle, but does not leave any unanswered questions. Most of all, the general feel is very authentic and true. Being Arab, I can easily relate to the 'family' theme and this is portrayed very well yet without overdoing it. I would like to close by saying this: tears, having become foreign to me, rarely remind me of their existence during certain touching films leading to my development of the phrase 'tear-worthy'. This film is without a doubt tear-worthy.. Sniff..
City of Life (2009)
Delivers
Arab film fest DC. To my surprise there's an Emirati movie with a not so bad blurb. Decide to go check it out, hoping it's not clichéd or derivative.
In short, movie was really really good. I was pretty much glued to the screen. Script was very smart and intertwined 3 story lines, and while it felt slightly forced in some parts it wasn't distracting. Cinematography was great, humor was intact and soundtrack for the most part was on key.
As a Kuwaiti that grew up in the US, then lived in the UAE and Kuwait, only to come back to the US I feel very drawn to this movie. I actually feel this movie was made for my generation of English-as-a-first-language Arabs. Was very impressed, and glad that I went. While I wouldn't say this movie redefines cinema, it definitely shines as a stand alone title with enough originality to inspire future attempts from the Gulf.
Highly recommended.