Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo

Khaled Mansour's first feature is set in a working-class quarter of Cairo. Hassan is a security guard in his thirties who lives with his mother in an old flat, and the only creature close to him is Rambo, the dog he took off the street. When the dog attacks the landlord the man sets out for revenge, and Hassan has to cross the whole city to get Rambo somewhere safe. The film builds that journey like an escape story, but its real subject is Hassan running from his own past; something he has told nobody has held him for years. Cairo is shot as a place where class difference is visible on every street. It screened in a sidebar at Venice and won the grand prize at the Red Sea festival. Who it's for: viewers who like Arab cinema and character-led thrillers. Who it's not for: anyone who would rather not approach scenes of an animal in danger; that is where the film builds its tension.