Zinzana

While widely hailed as the first genre film to come out of the United Arab Emirates, and displaying some fun and flashy visual skill, this isn't a very deep film, nor a great one.

The story is simple and has potential. An 'everyman' type is locked in a small local jail for some sort of brawl. While waiting to be bailed out a stranger enters and brutally murders the local sheriff in front of our 'hero' and hides the body. Why? And what will he do to our protagonist? (not really a spoiler - it happens at the very start of the film).

The cat and mouse game that plays out between the two men facing off in essentially one room for the whole film is cleverly shot and definitely has real moments of fun. But the film is a bit trapped between tones. The outrageous villain is played and written too campy and over-the-top to be believable enough to be scary, but too brutally violent and dark to be much fun. And our 'hero' remains a mostly blank sketch, so it's hard to be involved on a deeper level. Throw in a mix of some predictable late turns, and others that stretch credulity and logic, and you have a film that is fast paced and fun to watch, but not one that will linger in the memory or call for a second visit.

Heard some good things about this film and it lives up to the hype. A very smart, edgy contained thriller. Great visuals. I'm keeping an eye on this director to see what he can do with a bigger budget. Highly recommended.

Talal has gotten himself into trouble. He went to his ex-wife's new town of residence and got into a fight. Now he is in a dirty, dark (and probably smelly) cell in a police station in the middle of nowhere, waiting for the judge to decide on his future, with a lazy cop keeping an eye on him, and with little hope of being able to see his ex-wife again. However, when Dabaan, a cop from another station, comes in, things take a turn for the unexpected.

"Rattle the Cage" is a great thriller, gripping, with an amazing set-up (the reasons of which, we, the viewers, actually know very little of) that puts two men in very different situations face to face, with their lives on the line. Will Dabaan get his objective, whatever it is? And will he kill Talal? What options of leaving the place alive has actually Talal left?

If the beginning of the movie is good, but relaxed, from the very first moment Ali Suliman (as Dabaan) enters the scene, the movie goes to a whole new level of gripping and crazy. However, even if the atmosphere, acting and color palette is amazing, the story falters a little bit towards the end, with a couple of moments that are stretched a little bit thin.

You won't regret watching it, though.

Being from the Middle East I was really hoping that this film would not fall into the old clichés of love conquers all no matter what love is the answer sadly that was not the case the acting was good the jailor was a perfect psychopath and the main character was sympathetic enough though he could've been a bit stronger in the role. I really hope in 2020 and beyond Arab cinema will get Beyond the love clichés and also with that the always identifiable schmaltzy music

As we've come to expect out of India (I'm not sure if it's Indian or Bollywood or not) what acting!! Absolutely wonderful. Totally immersing and never missed a beat. Kudos to all involved!!!