Photocopy

Tamer Ashry's 2017 Egyptian film follows Mahmoud, a man in his late fifties. He runs a small photocopy shop; the day he reads about why the dinosaurs died out he becomes fixed on the question and starts measuring his own life against it. The idea is lateness. Mahmoud is near retirement and unnoticed by anyone; the connection he forms with Safinaz, who runs the shop opposite, stops him seeing himself as an extinct species. Mahmoud Hemida and Sherine Reda lead. The tone is calm and the humour measured; one of Cairo's older districts is shown in detail. The narrative manufactures no large event. Who it's for: those who like quiet films about aging and late love. Who it's not for: viewers expecting dense plotting; the film proceeds through small moments.