El Ott

I'm still under the influence of this movie! I went to this movie, knowing that one of the Actors and the Director were both from Egypt, and since I've seen some not-so-impressive movies from Egypt, i was really skeptical.

BUT this one proved to be a great action movie. The best movie to compare it to is Taken, but this is much deeper. The idea is somewhat the same (lots of action, shots, flying bullets etc). But the level of realism, the motivation of the character, the cold blood which moves him on makes this flick a good option to choose when selecting a movie.

Amir Waked does a great performance, perfectly interpreting his role of a gangster father looking for justice.

The movie covers a hot topic too, kidnapping children and young women to force them to prostitute, marriage or worse, unwilling organ donation, and all the business this involves. You get to see the kind of people are supporting these arrangements and what it takes for the victims to be there and how difficult is to get them out.

I do not like Ibrahim Batout movies. Nobody can understand them. Nobody could understand Yousef Chahine also but because he was the true originator of indie cinema in Egypt since long ago, we accepted his stories because his cinematography and style was original for that time. Nobody was like him or made movie like him before. I went to see EL OTT at the CIFF and regretted entering the screening. Two gangsters go head to head after one of them has a child missing. One enjoys to kill while the other doesn't. Yawn!!! To top off the disenchantment, we are introduced to a slew of cliché characters with horrendous acting skills. The actors playing both gangsters should have traded roles. Had I not been stuck sitting in the middle of an aisle I would have abandoned the screening before falling asleep. Didn't understand the ghost character either or what Set had to do with anything. If you want to see a good Egyptian film, go see Villa 69. It was the highlight of the festival.

10/10 This is one of the best Egyptian films I have watched. Ibrahim El Batout is a director to follow. He has matured and is getting closer to his audience with this film. This film is a very good example of how to mix art with entertainment. Lots of action and very deep moments. Amr Waked is one of my favorite Arab actors. He plays El Ott with such profound intensity. I also loved Amr Farouk, the charismatic actor playing his brother. Such an educating film about the underworld of Egypt. And for once an Egyptian film with no video clips. Farouk Elfishawy, is not my kind of actor, but in this film he is very well utilised. I love the locations and the photography of this film. If we should see more Arabic films like that, then Arabic cinema is moving forward. I recommend watching this film.

Very interesting movie. The director did a really good job into making this a unique work of his. I felt that every location was tuned to the smallest bit. This made every location interesting to glance at.

Also, the topic is a tough one. All of the main actors seem to understand that. Which is portrayed well into their acting.

Recommend the movie to those who are used to this type of thriller-movies. Most of the script relies on acting and camera-work. Short dialogues increases the need to stay focused on the details and the unspoken-dialogue.

Overall, I would not say this is a light movie. Quite the opposite, it leaves a mark.