Clash

I appreciate a lot of what this attempts, even if it doesn't always mesh together for a good film.

The acting is more than decent, the cinematography is impressive given the obvious limitations and the story it's attempting to share is compelling. However, I don't think there's enough there for a full-blown film. All the characters have their own story and motives which aren't overly developed, which generally leads to shouting matches every five minutes - which is simply irritating to watch.

I, admittedly, do not know anything close to enough about the Egyptian uprising of 2013, but every character says something or does something that I just find purely nonsensical; to the point where I'm not sure it would even happen in real life. Perhaps I'm wrong, certainly a possibility, though it just comes across that the filmmakers had loads of stories to tell and just crammed them in without making them appear logical.

I still find 'Clash' extremely interesting and admire how it's all filmed and put together, I just feel that the premise wears thin a tad.

Seen at the Filmfest Ghent 2016 (website: http://www.filmfestival.be/en). Prior to the screening, the director told that he succeeded in pissing off everyone in Egypt by making this movie. Arousing that much controversy can be considered a huge success in itself, were it not that he suffered some trauma because of everyone punching him afterwards. Along the line, he was accused of being a spy, funded by the West, even though the film is against no one, just pro humanity in general. Even so remarkable is that the film got attacked by everyone equally, because it inadvertently seemed to humanize "the others".

After Lebanon (2009, Samuel Maoz) this movie extends the concept of the narrow space with a very limited view on the outside world, and no easy way to escape due to a hostile environment. New is that the 25 persons locked up in a police van, are very different from each other with respect to age, religion, politics, and even sexes are mixed with all complications thereof. In other words, the hostility is not only the outside world but comes from fellow prisoners too, maybe even more so from internal rather than external.

For me it was not easy to remember faces and names; I lost track of each one's political stance very soon. Nevertheless, the hodgepodge of people and attitudes is clear from the outset. There is spurious contact with other police vans, containing people in a similar position, with name exchanges to verify whether relatives or friends are kept there and hopefully are in good health. Also, there are frequent contacts with soldiers, sometimes helpful sometimes not so helpful due to orders from higher echelons, or flatly unhelpful because of uncertainty about the other side's intentions.

The Q&A with the director after the screening brought a lot of useful information, in fact an addendum to his initial address before the screening. I scribbled down the following notes. It is difficult to make a movie like this in contemporary Egypt. A self-contained movie could be made about the making of this one, or even around making movies in general in Egypt for that matter. And it can still be worse, when seeing the film being pulled off cinema listings after its official release. On the other hand, he received moral support from outside Egypt, like for example Tom Hanks, who wrote that this movie changed his view on Egypt. Following up on a question from the audience, about being still welcome in Egypt, the director replied that it is complicated. In any case, it is still unclear whether he could make any other film there. It is not that that some person or some bureaucracy is against, because of Egypt being so many things together and certainly no homogeneous mass. Another question from the audience about the humor that was prominently present, despite the subject matter being a very serious matter. The director replied that the humor was interwoven to breathe, something that is very common in Egypt, often observed even during funerals.

For all of you who don't know, back in the 40's and 50's .. Egypt had one the best movie industries in the world, it was an equal to Hollywood back then .. but as our fellow writer lemony Snicket says due to a series of an unfortunate events, Egyptian cinema went downhill starting from the middle 60's .. there were some exceptions and some great works done by independent filmmakers such as chahine and atef eltayb and mohamed khan .. and yet there was still hope in Egyptian cinema .. but it was all gone starting from the middle 90's .. Very few movies i can recall that was OK in this period till late 2000's ..and then starting from 2010's we saw some real potential in a new generation of filmmakers that can actually restore Egyptian cinema legacy such as Amr salama and Mohamed diab .. and here we have on of the best Egyptian movies in the past two decades and the most thought provoking one.

Clash takes place in only one setting a 8m police truck .. from the beginning .. You would have this Claustropohbia even if you don't have it, Diab wanted to tell us than the true claustrophohia is in our thinking, in the narrow thinking that could end all of us, this movie isn't pointed toward a single audience .. it's a movie about humanity, about how to accept each other even if sometimes we can't stand each other but in order to move forward we have to, and it's done in a beautiful symbolic way .. It also have a political background and it may seem at first that's it's the movie's story but actually no, the political purpose is there i won't deny but it's crafted in a light way that Foreign audience can still watch and enjoy and have the same impact as Egyptian one's ..

The casting was superb, everyone did their job in a stellar, outstanding way .. I won't talk too much about it but it's truly one of the movie's positive sides.

The direction and the cinematography are the ones that truly deserves to raise the hat for, an exceptional work done, and take in recognition the budget of this movie that won't actually exceed two million dollars and maybe even less .. considering the budget of this movie, it's a splendid effort done by the whole crew ..

It's a movie experience in which you'd feel a mixture of emotions, You'd feel for an hour and 36 minutes like you're being trapped with the characters, and ironically it's Egypt's political situation now.

The idea of a film set entirely within a police truck in Cairo does not seem a particularly enticing prospect. Writer, director Mohamed Diab manages, however, to make this both riveting and exciting. With the considerable mix of Egyptians packed together and the troubles raging on the streets outside, this is an incredibly potent mix of actions, emotions and life changing moments. Clearly, the van load of Muslim Brotherhood supporters, Christians, police and their supporters brings all into conflict but also provides the opportunity to consider compromise and the possibility of swapping conflict for reconciliation. At the same time this is a thunderingly exciting film with provocative and believable dialogue and wincingly, in your face action. Interrupted momentarily whilst watching, I returned to my seat to become aware of just how fast my heart was racing. Stunning filmmaking and easily enjoyed without considering the political dimensions but even more potent in doing so.

Describes the Arab Spring in Egypt. The film is shot in a single venue and tells the story of a day from the past civil war.A person who knows the geography of the Middle East and the history of Egypt will be different from those who do not know the messages they will receive from this film. People from the same root do not know what they get by breaking apart and killing each other. Are lessons learned from these and similar massacres? The answer to this question is very uncertain.

The movie has a clear message. Civil wars are unnecessary and people of the same nationality should not come to such games. One of the most powerful movies I've been watching lately. This film contains beautiful messages and is extremely realistic. You should give this movie a chance.