Bittersweet

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.

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.

I love how funny and real this movie is. the perfect movie to watch in a family gathering on a weekend.

I saw this the first time by accident at a movie theater that had both English and Arabic language movies while in Doha. Because they always had trailers in both languages, I was kind of into the movie before I realized it wasn't a trailer and I was enjoying it and understood what was happening even though I only had "cab ride" level Arabic. I was able to follow the entire movie with no issue and it made me love Egypt a little bit more. I later saw it with an Arabic speaking family who answered a few questions, but it turned out that I had the entire plot down pretty well already. I would definitely watch this again and again if I could. I saw it a few weeks before the revolution. My Arabic students and friends clued me into the Egypt that tourists won't ever understand. Soon after the drama, I moved to Egypt for 6 months and came to love the place more deeply. The govt is again a hot mess (not unlike my own!) but the people are funny and sweet and hardworking and good. I think the movie shows the spirit of Masri people. Good, bad, and struggling to make the best of whatever their circumstances are.

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.