Clash

The movie opens with a few lines recounting the events that led to the heated rivalry between the Army (& pro-army supporters) and the Muslim Brotherhood (henceforth 'MB'); the camera having set its gaze inside an army truck.

A couple of journalists (who claim to be neutral to both factions) are arrested and brought into the truck. Their attempts at drawing an Anti-MB mob's attention to assist in their escape backfire when the senior reporter is observed to capture the incident on a watch that doubles as a camera. The army is forced to apprehend the mob for pelting stones and lock them inside the truck.

One thing leads to another and before we know it, a bunch of MB supporters are taken into custody and put along with the rest of the detainees in the truck. The situation outside is tense in itself, but imagine supporters of two rickety factions being forced to share a claustrophobic space together. The numbers comprise people not just with different political ideals, but of varied age-groups, religions and genders.

The writing is sensationally solid with lines given to members from both divisions to substantiate their character arcs. But circumstances are such that, eventually, all of them start to wilt and run out of hope (and breath) while stuck inside the van, left undeniably helpless when it comes to saving their own butts before their loved ones'.

The crowd includes individuals who are friends, relatives, acquaintances and even colleagues. Although it might seem a little difficult to follow the names and faces of each of the characters, the writing/direction is sublime enough to collectively grasp the divided opinion. What's astonishing here is how the Diabs even manage to bring in some unexpected comic relief as well in the form of a brilliantly-written scene involving a wannabe actor/singer, that is just a fleeting moment of joy before terror strikes yet again.

Cinematography work (by Ahmed Gabr) is first-rate. Even though shooting within the confined setting of the film must have been strenuous, there are plenty of visuals (and scenes in totality) that stick with the viewer: the adolescent woman who struggles hard to hold nature's calls but seemingly gives in at one point, the aspiring DJ who has had enough of seeing everyone around him riot and settles into his own "happy zone" by listening to music from his phone, the soldier who disobeys orders while delineating his humanitarian side, the reversal of fate for another officer (the list is endless!).

The crafting of the riot scenes taking place outside is magnificently believable and terrifying to perceive. To add to the positives of the film, the climactic finale was indeed difficult to envisage. The tagline of the film says "Conflict is on the Inside" and it reinstates this through a powerful narrative which delves into both political and personal strife. The film rightfully deserves a bigger audience and greater appreciation than it has already been earning.

Verdict: Must-watch!

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.

After almost three decades of dictatorial reign, when the government of President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown by the events following Tahrir Square in 2011, popular elections brought Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt. However, his radical religious agenda drove a deep wedge in a multi-ethnic society and after a popular, violent uprising by his opponents in 2013, the army took control. This pushed the country on the brink of civil war. Egypt became a chaotic crucible and was enveloped in a season of daily protests on the streets between supporters of Muslim Brotherhood who felt that their democratically elected government was unfairly unseated and supporters of the army who sought an end to the fundamentalist regime of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The film captures one such day when protests break out in various parts of Cairo between these opposing factions. The entire movie is set and has been filmed within the confines of a police van which has been deployed on the street. While it starts with the arrest of an Egyptian born journalist working with the Associated Press covering the clashes along with his local freelance cameraman, the van is quickly filled up with a motley assembly of people cutting across the spectrum of age, economic status and owing their allegiance to either side of the ideological divide. Tempers fray with the supporters of Muslim Brotherhood and the pro-army group find themselves at each other's throats and find that their strength of ideological conviction is put to a litmus test by this sticky situation. As the cops try to shepherd the police van to safety traversing through treacherous streets of midtown Cairo filled with rioting mobs, the van - literally as well as figuratively - becomes a simmering cauldron ready to explode.

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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.

Some may argue that you cannot really 'get' this film unless you are knowledgeable about the geopolitics of Egypt. And they have a very valid point. However, this is far too narrow a view to have and fails to grasp the bigger picture at play here: the hatred and animosity of those who are blinded by their own political and religious views to the detriment of others. Or dismissive of those who are not part of either. And yet the director shows us glimpses of human understanding and compassion which breach through the hatred and contempt and gives the viewer hope. Even if short-lived.

It is very difficult to pull off a whole film in effectively one setting - the back of a police van, in this case - and hold the viewer's attention throughout. But this film succeeds with high marks on this count. And leaves the viewer questioning at the end: would we behave in a similar fashion to most of the characters or would we behave differently? Or is that all just wishful thinking?

An excellent, thought-provoking film. Highly recommend.