Sarah Khalil
Humanities 101
Professor
Bomboy
November 20,
2015
I have chosen to analyze and
critique the movie Cairo Time written and directed by Ruba Nadda. I
chose to critique the way the music in the film is used to heighten emotional
response.
The film Cairo Time is simply
about a terse romantic connection between two people that cannot be together.
The film basically shows the West meeting the East for the first time and
exploring more about each other’s beliefs and cultures. It illustrates that in
the Western culture, people are constantly busy, accomplishing deadlines and
never having a chance to slow down and think. However, when the American woman
arrives to the East she is forced to slow down and think more about her life. I
believe the intent of the film is to show viewers that two people from
different cultures can have an unexpected love affair despite their cultural
and religious differences. Since the film was actually shot in Egypt, I believe
its other intent is to show people the beauty of Egypt and its people.
The movie consists of two main
characters, Juliette Grant and Tareq Khalifa and it takes place the same year
the movie was produced. There are other important characters such as Kathryn
and Mark.
Many know that music
portrays a wide range of emotions. Music is powerful in that sense and because
of that Ruba Nadda does an excellent job of incorporating the right music in
the right scenes. More than 90% of the music used in Cairo Time is
instrumental and/or classical music. Most of the music used has a soft yet
intriguing rhythm. I believe Ruba Nadda did this because the movie is a slow
paced romantic movie and she wants the audience to pay attention to what the
characters are saying to one another and their facial expressions rather than
paying attention to the words of a song.
Ruba Nadda only incorporated two Egyptian songs in the movie and I
believe she did so to make the audience feel like they’re actually in Egypt. The
song “Ahwak” by Abdel Halim Hafez (a popular classic in Egypt) was played when
Tarek took out Juliette for a walk. Ahwak in Arabic means “I love you”. I don’t
believe Tarek loved Juliette just yet but Nadda played this song to show that
he was in fact falling in love with her slowly without realizing it.
When Juliette goes to the White Desert (a small town in Western
Egypt) with her friend, Kathryn, the instrumental song “White Desert” by Niall
Byrne is played in the background and sets a sorrowful yet mellow mood. I
believe this is one of the most important scenes in the movie because Kathryn
is telling Juliette how she once fell in love with an Egyptian man and almost
left her husband for him. Kathryn then tells Juliette “You seem happy. That’s
all that matters” (Iron & Nadda, 2009). When in fact the audience can see
Juliette looking out into the distance thinking if she truly is happy or is
just lying to herself to keep her marriage alive.
Tarek was a former bodyguard to Mark (Juliette’s husband) and due
to this Tarek is asked by Mark to show her around the city until he returns
from the UN. In the beginning of the movie, Tarek asks Juliette if she’d like
to see the pyramids but she politely declines and says she can’t because she
made a promise to Mark that they would see the pyramids together. However,
towards the very end of the movie, the instrumental song “Cairo Time” by Niall
Byrne sets a calm and romantic mood and is played when Juliette agrees to see
the pyramids with Tarek. This shows the audience that she is slowly falling in
love with Tarek and slowly forgetting about her husband. During this scene no
words are exchanged, just facial expressions.
As soon as Juliette and Tarek arrive at the hotel after seeing the
pyramids together, Mark arrives, thanks Tarek for everything and takes Juliette
to the pyramids. As they’re in the taxi on their way to the pyramids, “Till I
kissed you” by The Everly Brothers on the radio starts playing. I believe the
Nadda incorporated this song into the scene because Juliette and Mark are
almost leaving Egypt and heading back home to America. The reality for Juliette
starts to set in and she starts to sob for a moment quietly.
Overall, I believe Nadda did a superb job of delivering her message
to the audience. I believe there are several different messages from Cairo
Time. But I believe the main one is that the choices you make in life
determine your fate. All of the choices that Juliette made in her life lead up
to one important moment, meeting and falling in love with Tarek. I also believe
that Patricia Clarkson (Juliette) and Alexander Siddig (Tarek) were perfect
actors for the film. Not because they delivered the lines correctly but because
of the facial expressions they expressed in the movie. When I first watched the
movie I kept forgetting it was a movie because of how realistic the actors made
it out to be. This movie actually encouraged me to look more into the whole
soundtrack of the movie because it was very touching, heartwarming and
nostalgic. Although the music used was very quiet and calm, I believe Nadda has
attracted many towards her movie due to the music she chose to incorporate.
Works Cited
Cairo Time. By Ruba Nadda. Perf. Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig. IMDb,
2009. DVD.
Iron, Daniel,
prod. Cairo Time. Screenplay by Ruba Nadda. Dir. Ruba Nadda. IFC Films, 2009.
Film
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