A Break We'll Be Right Back

Ahmed Nader Galal's 2011 Egyptian film follows a taxi driver fighting for custody of his son. After his wife's death, Karim goes to court against a father-in-law who wants guardianship of the boy, and wins; but when the child is abducted he loses his memory as well, and the story becomes a mystery. The structure works by giving the audience the protagonist's memories in sequence, leaving it unclear until the end which are real and which invented. Karim Abdel Aziz's performance carries that uncertainty. Psychological thriller construction is rarely this central in mainstream Egyptian cinema. Its weakness is a resolution explained at too much length. Who it's for: viewers who like Egyptian thrillers and structures built on an unreliable narrator. Who it's not for: anyone who will struggle with the complexity of the plotting, or avoiding content about child abduction.