Asmaa

This film is just as uplifting as it is tragic. Amr Salama brings up HIV/AIDS in a society that typically shunned or turned a blind eye to the issue. A woman contracting HIV, in a conservative community that associates the disease with either a sexually transmitted infection from an extra marital affair or drug use injection, has to deal with not only what the disease is doing to her body, but also with the way people will punish her if they found out she has it. This poignant drama promises an honest perspective into the Egyptian culture and the average Egyptian's perspective on such delicate and taboo issues.

Although it may be a long road ahead, Salama definitely helped raise awareness and maybe even recede the social stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in some way. A beautiful performance by Hend Sabry was able to evoke empathy and compassion towards people with the disease in a ruthless community that can't help but look down on them. This is a must-see, and if you think it might be too depressing for your taste, don't worry. Maged ElKedwany's equally brilliant performance will either downright crack you up or at least put a smile on your face a few times throughout the movie. Have fun!

AIDS may be the fuel in Asmaa's engine, but director/writer Amr Salama doesn't hesitate to take on board the position of Muslim women in society, following on from Cairo 678, which was also produced by Egypt's New Century.

As such, international interest will perhaps initially be led by the Diaspora, but the issues of the Arab Spring regarding personal empowerment in a changing society are also explored in this film, and should attract interest. Salama, who collaborated on Tahrir 2011: The Good The Bad And The Politician, blends a populist approach and pacy tricks - much cross-cutting and colour coding - with more subtle emotional notes in this story which is partly based on a real-life tale which had a far more tragic outcome.

Salama wrote Asmaa's script with actress Hend Sabry in mind, and she makes the most of the opportunity to deliver a strong lead performance as Asmaa, a 45-year-old woman living in Cairo with her father Hosni (Sayed Ragab) and daughter Habiba (Fatma Adel).

In a dramatic introduction, Asmaa is wheeled into an operating theatre where she is urged to stay quiet. Salama intercuts this with a support group meeting for AIDS sufferers, where it emerges that Asmaa is a-symptomatic but will die from a gall bladder complaint if doctors continue to refuse to treat her because of her HIV-positive condition. And refuse, they do.

Asmaa, a humble and devout Muslim widow, works as a cleaner in Cairo airport and struggles to support her family; her daughter does not know anything of her mother's plight and stays out late at night, while her father never leaves the couch. Flashbacks begin to paint a picture of stubborn Asmaa's humble rural background as a carpet weaver and doomed marriage to Mossaad (Hany Adel), but whatever the situation she finds herself in, the increasingly-ill Asmaa is resolute in her refusal to reveal how she contracted the virus.

Asmaa is offered a chance to change things - for herself, and perhaps for others - by appearing on a powerful TV chat show hosted by Mohsen (Maged El Kedwany); the producers tell her that if she makes a personal plea, a doctor may step forward and volunteer to operate. There is one condition however: Mohsen insists she shows her face.

This will-she or won't-she tension helps propel Asmaa forward over some troublesome moments of high drama, particularly in Asmaa's home village, and Salama keeps a firm hand on the edit whenever the pace threatens to slacken, cross-cutting back to Cairo and a budding potential romance with fellow patient Shafiq. Strong visual motifs such as Asmaa's highly-coloured past, the greys of modern-day Cairo, and the warm orange hues of the support group, can be a little over-played, however, but Asmaa makes its points clearly and firmly, reminding us that the issue of AIDS still has many borders to cross

Painful as the severity of this disease, a wonderful plot and a perfect performance from the movie's heroes. The director's cinematography choices were annoying at the beginning of the film, but the story and narration of events justified them. The most studied flashback in Egyptian cinema. Hind is a genius and Maged El Kedwany is the jewel in the crown. It seems that the director studied the aids more than the specialists, and presented a masterpiece that is still relevant despite the passage of time. May God have mercy on the real character of the original story and accept him into eternal paradise.

I haven't cried in my whole life like I have cried while watching this film while mostly it was sad tears some of it was happy tears, it's a must-watch!!!

Asmaa is an impoverished Egyptian diagnosed with HIV, faced with the injustice of an unaware society that views the disease as a guaranteed death warrant. It does not stop there: Asmaa is also a women, making her journey much harder to endure.

All we really know about "Asmaa" is that its an attempt to tackle a long forgotten and dismissed taboo in Egypt. But tackling a taboo through a set of clichés will likely annoy viewers (like myself) and have a reverse effect.

The basis of the story gave the writer a excellent opportunity to expand and dig deep into the social, economic and political repercussions and consequences faced by HIV patients in Egypt.

The 96 minutes running time might have been the biggest flaw and dealt a fatal blow to the film, which suffered from a script that ineffectively blends together too many stories and ends up under developing each and every one of them.

Worn out clichés hurt the film badly. And example of this is the common and quite predictable television interview scene which has become the preferred alternative for a writer who is struggling creatively and stuck on a screenplay. ["Add in television interview scene." - "Add a shot of people staring at their TV stations as they watch the show." - Cut to: flashbacks scenes.] Sorry, but we have seen it before!

Story and writing-wise, her marriage story was so dull and uninteresting, it bored me (and lost my attention) by the second flashback. Likewise, her family and daughter storyline was insufficiently developed, leaving us with many unanswered question, and at times in utter confusion.

If there was ever a streak of genius in the movie, it was the lost opportunity to concentrate on group therapy sessions. There was so much (lost) potential there and regrettably, none were tackled appropriately. Instead, the writer left us with a few repetitive, uninspiring lines and little knowledge of how the disease actually affected the lives of the people we are listening to (or even Asmaa herself!).

Maged El Kedwany was undoubtedly the only attention-grabbing exciting character this movie produced. Too bad it was damaged by the tired and overused TV interview storyline.

Overall, at times I felt I was watching 678 with HIV replacing sexual harassment. Although Asmaa is mildly better than the mediocre 678, it suffers from much of the same weaknesses: an underdeveloped and weak screenplay and overacting (hint: Hend Sabry).

★★/★★★★