RUBA NADDA

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB

Canada/Ireland/Egypt, 2009.  Foundry Films, Samson Films, Astral Media, CITY-TV, Corus, The Harold Greenberg Fund, MISR International Films, Movie Central, The Movie Network, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Super Channel, Super Écran, Téléfilm Canada.  Screenplay by Ruba Nadda.  Cinematography by Luc Montpellier.  Produced by David Collins, Daniel Iron, Gabriel Khoury.  Music by Niall Byrne.  Production Design by Tamara Conboy, Hamed Hemdan.  Costume Design by Brenda Broer.  Film Editing by Teresa Hannigan.  

Lush, romantic piece that hits all the right notes from beginning to end. Patricia Clarkson is marvelous as an American magazine editor who arrives in the Egyptian capital to meet with her diplomat husband, only to find out that he has left on a mission outside the city and will not return for a number of days.

While biding her time, she gets to know the city and befriends a former colleague of her husband’s (Alexander Siddig) who shows her the sights and provides some conversation and laughs. Where the film succeeds is in never overplaying its cards: the affection that develops between these two is muted, classy and very sexy, with the two actors showing admirable restraint in their performances while director Ruba Nadda overlays the experience with dazzling photography and a gorgeous musical score.

The film’s climax amid the pyramids is simply beautiful.

Toronto International Film Festival:  2009