Luxor

Straight up, this film is one of the most beautifully shot and acted films you'll find. But it's not for those who have no tolerance for the "kind" of film it is. It's a stream of consciousness experience following Andrea Riseborough's character through a few days in Egypt visiting friends and working on some deep seated angst she's carrying about something in the past. It is not an adventure film or action film or even a romance film, quite frankly. The dialog is good, but sparse. As others have pointed out, Riseborough's face and body language do 90% of the acting -- and does it very well indeed. She is a remarkable actor.

My guess is that most of the negative reviews are from men, and specifically men under 50 yrs old. It's a film with a woman's sensibility imbuing it from start to finish.

I was constantly amazed and impressed with the "sense of place" the story creates from the beginning. Whether it's out on the streets or in the hotel, it feels so authentic and unhurried... like life should be.

A big thumbs up from me, though I recognize that many will (and do) find it less than satisfying due to other expectations from their entertainment.

1) I get that Andrea Riseborough has turned half dead over the past couple of years and gained immense sadness in her eyes. Watch her in "Disconnect" from 2013/14 and then in her recent major roles in "Zerozerozero"/"Possessor" or this one. There is a strong effort to suppress her natural beauty, and it seems more like her own choice. Anyway, she's carrying that depressed torch with a unique lifeless energy.

2) I was compelled to watch this (IMDb 5.3) to see if it really was worthless. My verdict is that it's definitely not. Its not for everyone but shares nothing with a typical Hollywood film set in the Mediterranean. Some of us long for films that have scanty plot twists and since I find the actress worthy her salt and not unlikable (which can be a task these days).

3) This film albeit slowly prodding without any substantial revelation, doesn't attempt any preachy sermons or any life changing epiphanies. The film is flat, just like life may seem when you're in a rut (which our emaciated lead is in).

Did they misspell Andrea's name on the soundtrack cover?

Set in the ancient Egyptian city, Luxor is almost portrayed as a silent documentary. Director Zeina Durra constantly has the camera leading or following. Down tight Egyptian streets. Through majestic ruins. Ahead of Hana, who is endlessly wandering; her thoughts leagues before her. Luxor is a contemplative movie, and Durra's slow pacing accentuates that study.

To the movie's benefit, Durra beautifully displays the archeological wonders of the city. From the Temples of Karnak and Luxor itself, to the Winter Palace hotel, Durra showcases a part of the world that thanks to COVID and the outgoing Presidency's relationship with Arab affairs, remains an unvisited destination to many Americans. However, even Rick Steve's tourism videos jump to a snappier beat.

Hana is a British aid worker returning to Luxor on holiday. Scarred from scenes of an unmentioned battlefront, Hana wanders the quiet city alone until she runs into Sultan, an archaeologist and former lover. Sultan is totally Indiana Jones looking to rekindle that affair with the feisty Marion. Hana would rather play the hard-to-get Willie and has no time for love, Dr. Jones. She is shellshock and is hoping the mystery of the ancient world resets her ability to again see hope.

Luxor is 90 minutes of Hana walking, wondering, wanting. Durra slowly provides details to Hana's life, but those little points become lost in the stagnant plot while the biggest mystery remains unanswered. If Hana so desperately wishes to move beyond her former life, why return to the city where she knows her former boyfriend works? Lots of wonderful ruins in Ireland that are aching to be visited.

Luxor is not meant to be a riotous rom com, but perhaps it should have been. The slow, piercing character study of a film is a worthy genre, yet Hana's story has no true resolution. Her solemn attitude is frustrating as she cannot decipher the beauty that is all around her. What could have been a majestic tragedy is instead as dry and dusty as a desert road.

So the second film of this years London Sundance Film Festival is Luxor and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees a British Aid Worker return to Egypt where she spent plenty of time, she tries to get past her dark past by meeting an old lover.

Main Character Andrea Riseborough is a good actress and she plays the lead here and she does a good job. It is a pretty physical performance that she is a woman of few words and uses her body language to emote how she is feeling. Though there are a few great scenes where you see the emotion poor out of her and it really makes you care about her as a person.

Supporting Characters As I mentioned there is a love interest here and I didn't really care for him as a character, I just felt there wasn't much chemistry between him and Riseborough which did hurt their story arc, mainly because the film doesn't give you much reason to care about him. I mean there are a few other people in the film but they are given no time or depth to work with so really this is a one woman show.

Story The story is a slow burn, it does a good job of showing this woman in turmoil internally and seeing how she copes with the horror of the world is interesting and is risen up because of the quality of the lead performance. But I must be honest not a lot happens here, the film just doesn't really have much going on and it really can be quite tedious at times which hurts the overall story.

Script The script has some okay moments in it, there are some real dramatic scenes here that are elevated by Risebourough's great performance here. But this script doesn't do anything to really stand out, in fact there isn't actually that much dialogue at times which makes this film feel longer then it is.

Style The film looks very nice, it shows the scenery very well and the fact that the film takes place in Egypt gives this film a really nice background for the film. But this film is just incredibly slow and just a bit boring, it is less then 90 minutes but honestly feels at least 2 hours if not longer.

Overall Overall, I found this to be a very average film. I imagine if you dislike mainstream cinema and big action films then maybe you will like this but I would say it isn't worth the time.

Rating - 5/10.