Crimen en el Cairo

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).

Egyptian film star Fares Fares is the beleaguered police detective trying to solve the murder of a prostitute at the Nile Hilton, but encounters nothing but roadblocks and misdirection, some laid by his own superiors. In Egypt, they apparently frown on attempts to solve crimes committed by top government figures. And to get information or to get out of trouble, everything has a price. Money is always changing hands. The viewer wonders if the detective will ever get the chance to find the killer.

Sounds like an interesting murder mystery, but truth be told, it's not as exciting or mysterious as it could be. Director Tarik Saleh tries mightily but his efforts come up short. "The Nile Hilton Incident" is heavy on atmosphere but lacks clarity to hold the audience's interest. Corruption, graft and bribery abound and the bleak, washed out color photography is in keeping with the squalid streets of the Egyptian cities and the moral underpinnings of local officials. The 'perp' is known early on but his identity gets lost the muddled mix of names and titles of all the government employees involved. And, without giving it away, noir fans are used to a more satisfying resolution of matters than Director Saleh has afforded us.

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.

"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.

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