Chaos, This Is?

The 2007 Egyptian film Youssef Chahine made together with Khaled Youssef was the director's last work. Hatem, a corrupt police officer who controls everything in a Cairo neighbourhood, is fixated on his neighbour Nour, who loves the prosecutor Sherif. Hatem's insistence quickly turns into brutality. The film takes direct aim at police violence and impunity, a bold position for when it was made; a few years later the same issues were among the grievances behind the country's uprising. Chahine's telling is melodramatic and loud; the matter is put directly rather than with subtlety. Khaled Saleh's performance is strong. The woman character is thinly written. Who it's for: viewers interested in Egyptian cinema and popular films carrying political criticism. Who it's not for: anyone wanting measured storytelling, or avoiding scenes of sexual violence and torture.