Bittersweet

We attended Asal Eswed at a Maadi movie house around June 2010. I will never forget that the large audience watched attentively, laughed unanimously and behaved in an unusually mature way for local cinema goers. The film addresses real issues in an honest and refreshing way and is very funny and poignant also. As it preceded the revolution by about six months, it was in my mind later on that this film was one of the first signs that we were looking at a time of change in Egypt, so badly needed.

My 95 year old mother stood and wept at the end of the movie and declared that whoever made this film deserved a prize. I have watched this film several times and never tire of it, it is a classic, I believe, very relevant to us Egyptians and deeply meaningful. The traffic scene is wonderfully evocative of Egypt, as are many cameo moments, for example with the cassette/GPS repair man. The moment when the Egyptian passport is catapulted out of a hotel window is inspirational !

The film expresses the deep longings and frustrations of Egyptians desiring a freer happier life for themselves. Thank you Ahmed Helmy for this superb sincere film.

One of the tops!

Ahmed helmy nailed this movie, every time we get the chance to watch a family movie we choose this one.

A lovely, sweet and heartfelt movie that you will love to share with a family.

The sound tracks are amazing. Always gets me.

Recommend!!

When I was a child, I thought it was a comedy film but when I growed up I saw it many times and I understood what did the director want to tell us as this is the life in Egypt you have to be in contact with very important people to get your rights so this film is great.

I've been watching this movie since I was back home in Iraq, now I'm in the US and relate so much to it. Hilarious, and heartwarming!

Great movie, it's absolutely fantastic. Not only is it realistic, nostalgic and funny, the jokes in this movie are one of the best they never make me stop laughing no matter how much i have heard them, but that doesn't take away from serious topics in the movie because it also has great meaning behind every scene or shot. The cast and actors did theirs part alright, from clean and beautiful shots to wonderful acting, the movie has deep meaning behind most characters and great life advice and quotes. Favorite Egyptian movie and the best Egyptian movie to be made in my opinion, the movie reflects how living in Egypt is like for someone who lived in a first world country their whole life, it shows that even if we live in different environments and cultures we are all the same humans. I absolutely adore this masterpiece.