Après la bataille

"After the Battle" is a very fine state-of-the-nation movie, the nation here being Egypt and the time, the present. This film, which has many scenes of documentary-like realism, could have been ripped from the headlines and, in a way, it was. It is a superb piece of political cinema, particularly to us in the West whose grasp on Egyptian politics may be tenuous at best but director Yousry Nasrallah coats his picture in the guise of a love story of sorts between a brusque horseman, coaxed into supporting the Mubarak regime with the promise of work, and a radical young divorcée who comes to support him and his family and it's a strategy that works.

These are people from very different backgrounds and with very different ideas on how Egypt should be governed, particularly in relation to the role of women. Their meeting will have a major impact on both their lives and in unexpected ways. Of course, this romantic, human side to the story makes the film much more accessible to a wider audience. As the horseman and the woman who seeks to educate him both Bassem Samra and Menna Shalabi are excellent and there's a lovely performance from Nahed El Sebai as Samra's too trusting wife. Unfortunately after its screening at Cannes the film very much disappeared. Do yourself a favour and seek it out.