The Nile Hilton Incident

This movie does a very good job of showing a realistic view of modern day Egypt.

Corruption permeates everywhere. It is a way of life, especially among government employees under the regime of Hosni Mubarak.

Police Commander Noredin is corrupt and at a low point in his life: he works, collects bribes, browses facebook at an internet cafe, heads home and watches tv while drinking a beer and smoking a joint. He then goes to sleep for the cycle to repeat. Noredin's wife and child had been killed in an auto-crash and is it heavily alluded to that he got his job thanks to police General Kammal, his uncle. He helps his disabled father but has lost his respect, due to his corruption.

A murder then occurs at the Nile Hilton hotel. Noredin is unable to decide whether to commit to the case or just collect the appropriate bribes and close it. He eventually decides to pursue the case at all costs.

This film touches on many aspects of Egyptian society. From the Sudanese immigrants to the working class, middle class, artisans and elite - we get a perspective of what daily life in Cairo is like.

Being unfamiliar with Egypt, the dialogue was very amusing and fresh. Some of the idioms and digs had me laughing out loud.

I must also give a lot of credit to many of the actors that made this film particularly engaging. Fares Fares plays Noredin very well as we can sense his perspectives and viewpoints clearly. Oddly enough, he reminded me of Harrison Ford in Blade Runner: cold, detached but intrigued nonetheless. Another nod should go to Mari Malek, who plays Salma - the Sudanese murder witness. She really shows the helplessness and vulnerability of an immigrant in her situation.

I highly recommend this film, especially to anyone who like murder-mysteries, film noir or historical dramas as it has shades of all those genres in it.

A real incident and a fictional movie about it. I did not study the case/incident so I can't tell you anything more than is depicted in the movie. Of course since we get the whole thing from the viewpoint of one police official, there might be some freedom creatively. And you may know the main actor from his role in a swedish crime series. Here he goes back to his native tongue/language, but is as terrific as he is in Swedish.

So while this is a real life drama, it's also a crime thriller. It's quite bleak and it's also quite slow. There is nothing flashy about it and it really does feel like a real story. Our protagonist is not some larger than life superhero cop. He has his flaws and he has his virtues. A really likeable movie, and one where you can really root for someone ... whether the praying is necessary and helps or not is to be seen ... and you should see it

"Chinatown" it isn't, though hardly a film can be blamed for not getting close to the archetype, still this is the fountain it draws from. There is a sense of impending doom to it, an urgent cry for some kind political change; unfortunately though, it somehow lacks in editing sharpness while, more importantly, suffering from some kind of belief that the Egyptian revolution would make things better. Yet, I must admit, that its historical naivete is overthrown by its imprinted fatalism and the humanity in Fares presence.

Movie about a corrupt cop who tries to solve a murder to a songstress in Cairo (Egypt) and gets deeper and deeper into the crooked administration of the government.

This is one of the best cop films of recent times.

It's really great to have a seldom seen location for crime. I think many are fed up with New York, L. A., San Francisco, Chicago ... .

The acting of the disillusioned cop is very good.

The film score is unobtrusive and doesn't push to the fore.

Cinematography is awesome. There are cool drives through nightly Cairo.

The movie is at the same level like other great films about corruption e.g. Chinatown or Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara).

The synopis, the title n the lead actor Fares were enuff for me to check this film. It is good to see Fares in a leading role after the the Department Q trilogy. In this film Fares is a clean shaven cop, who's obsessed with his side part hair cut, he doesnt hesitate to steal money from a dead person's purse but at the same time he takes care of his old n sick dad. While investigating a murder of a famous singer, he has to face some powerful people n police corruption. This film has all the ingredients of a noir film. The film is set during the Egyptian revolution, starting with the protest against increasing police brutality n corruption.