Cairo Time

2009 Directed by Ruba Nadda

In Cairo on her own as she waits for her husband, Juliette finds herself caught in a whirlwind romance with his friend Tareq, a retired cop. As Tareq escorts Juliette around the city, they find themselves in the middle of a brief affair that catches them both unawares.

Patricia Clarkson Alexander Siddig Elena Anaya Amina Annabi Tom McCamus Mona Hala Fadia Nadda Mohamed Abdel Fatah Hossam Abdulla Nabil Shazli Roanne Bell Andrew Cullen

Alternative Titles

开罗时间, Ερωτας στο Κάιρο

drama romance

88 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by alex ★★★★ 2

I LOVE WATCHING PATRICIA CLARKSON FALL IN LOVE
Review by Maryam ★★★

this movie just reaffirmed how gay I am for patricia clarkson
Review by TajLV ★★★ 2

Viewing #7 of my MovieTalk May Film Festival Challenge
Canadian writer-director Ruba Nadda gives us a love story set in one of the world's most fascinating cities. I had the good fortune to spend nearly a week in Cairo in 1972 as a student and tourist, taking in not only the wonderful sights of Giza, the Nile, the Grand Bazaar, and the City of the Dead, but also the American University with a side trip to Alexandria to visit the catacombs. I'll never forget watching the sound-and-light show projected on the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids, riding a camel in the desert, or seeing the ancient mummies on display at the Cairo Museum. It was a life-changing, educational adventure, and…
Review by J. ★★★★★

don't touch me I'm fragile I've been crying for ninety minutes
Review by rosie 🌹 ★★★★

call the cops i've been stabbed in the heart by alex siddig and patricia clarkson
Review by bbbgtoby ★★★½ 2

Part 16 of the 30 Countries project.
For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of Irish origin as per its listing on imdb.
I've had this film sitting around the house for so long now that I'd completely forgotten why I picked it up in the first place. In my mind it had almost become an awful indie version of Eat Pray Love set in Egypt with Patricia Clarkson in the Julia Roberts role. This last fact being the only reason worth watching it, who wouldn't want to watch Patricia Clarkson in anything?
So having dismissed it as a bit of fluff I was more than a little surprised by the quality…
Review by rosie 🌹 ★★★★

i just watched this with commentary and... the elevator kiss was accidental and they kept patricia's real reaction in and then sid walking over to her in the hotel room when they almost kiss wasn't scripted... their minds
Review by rosie 🌹 ★★★★

the nuance in patricia clarkson's performance and the chemistry between her and sid is real movie magic y'all i'm shooketh
Review by 🐱Andrew Chrzanowski🐱 ★★★ 1

"I'm here to see my husband."
A lovely little romantic fling turned into a film with Cairo in the background, Patricia Clarkson is good enough for me to watch just about anything she's in, even if the movie is nothing special.
Juliette comes to Cairo to visit her UN official husband, but when he's constantly delayed with issues in Gaza she ends up driven around the city by his Egyptian friend Tareq. Plot twist: he's super hot and charming. Sparks!
She also falls in love with Cairo, which this film is just as much of an homage to as to the tryst itself. Clarkson is great, even if the rest of the movie is just okay and sometimes a little…
Review by Jason at the Farm ★½

Boring rich liberal white woman goes to Egypt and almost has an affair.
Review by Manish Mathur ★★★★

It's not often you get to see such a mature romance between two people nearing middle age and set in Cairo to boot. Cairo Time is such a beautiful and sad movie, with gorgeous cinematographer and a subtle script. Plus the two leads, Alexander Siddig and Patricia Clarkson, are fantastic and restrained.
Review by Ella 🪐 ★★★★

We don't deserve Patricia Clarkson, she is too perfect for us. Her beauty is like that of an Old Hollywood star, while her talent transcends acting in the modern day. She is so stunningly gorgeous in this film you have to pause it at moments just to admire her. She is sharp and witty, but also soft and so vulnerable. She is an underused talent and so perfect. I love her.

Recent reviews

Review by Bil Antoniou ★★★★

Find the full review here: wp.me/p3waMl-6XI
Review by mohamed yousry ★★★★★

فيلم مليان دفا ومشاعر مختلطه واحاسيس وحب وحزن .. وعن الكيمياء والانسجام ونظرات العيون بين باتريشيا كلاركسون والكسندر صديق .. حقييقى فيلم جميل واتنين ممثلين اجمل .. حبيت الفيلم والجو بتاعه بجد ..
Review by Han63

IMAC2
Review by Amber Derk ★★★★

This film is a mood. It’s a bit about lives unlived and a bit about finding yourself a bit more objectively when you’re in a fish out of water situation, seeing through a different lens. I also just really like the actors and the Canadian director. I’m not sure why Juliette waits around for her husband, but I assume she is being true to herself somehow by doing so.
Review by LaMarchombre ★★★★

A little gem gone unoticed. Patricia Clarckson and Alexander Siddig are all in grace. With glances and soft tones, they perfectly embodied the the beauty of what can be but never will. The perfect soundtrack helps too!
Review by Earl Woods ★★★★

Simple, sentimental, sweet, and sincere - and just what I needed today. Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig are absolutely lovely together in what amounts to an inverted Lost in Translation, yet stands comfortably on its own.
Review by DrFidelius

White Woman Visits Egypt. I could go on - and I will - but the beginning, end and middle of the movie is White Woman Visits Egypt.
It's a shame, because I enjoyed some of the camerawork a lot. Nothing flashy, just two people sharing the frame and being increasingly and painfully into each other. The sex energy pouring off Alexander Siddig could irrigate the Nile Delta all by itself. You wouldn't even need shadoufs.
I do not think it was meant to be funny that her big declaration of intimacy is going to see the pyramids she was saving for her absent husband. It seems like telling your New York crush "Let's do it...let's visit the Statue of Liberty!"
White Woman Visits Egypt. Then she leaves.
Review by Watchr_Joe ★★

Patricia: "Oh, it's so miserable, being so attractive all the time."
Alexander "Hey, I'm attrac-"
Patricia: "Shut up, Alexander. Nobody's listening to you."
Review by Minh Nguyễn ★★★

The Canadian Blu-ray disc starts with 14 trailers and an unskippable Mercedes ad. No kidding!

oh, and the film is quite okay.
Review by Mic Marronnier ★

Belanglos. Erstaunlicherweise keine Degeto-Produktion.
Review by Bob Hovey ★★★

OK, this one looked like a schmaltzy romance but I took a chance thinking that Beth might like it. The plot seems kind of routine at first... woman travels to Cairo to meet her United Nations husband who gets held up by sudden violence in the West Bank. A close friend and recently-retired UN associate takes her under his wing and shows her around Cairo. But rather than ... hmm, wait, I can't tell you any more, we don't want any spoilers. But a Lifetime movie, this ain't. It is a fine, sensitive story that I enjoyed on several levels... the lead, Patricia Clarkson (The Green Mile, The Station Agent) is a wonderful actress who can be counted on to deliver performances that seem natural and honest. Alexander Siddiq (Dr. Bashir in ST:DS9) wasn't bad either. It's well-written, and Cairo is portrayed with a depth and sensitivity that makes it a character unto itself.
Review by Salma ★★★½

It’s a very soft movie that makes you smile. Loved how Umm Khalthoum and Abd El-Halim were always playing in the background, very lovely. (Siddig is also so huggable, though he can’t speak arabic to save his life!)
Disliked the white savior bits, which were few, thankfully.
3 points for the fluff, 1/2 for the music.
Edit: I also forgot to mention how much I loved the subtlety of Sid’s performance. The angsty shine of love in Tarik’s eyes are perhaps my favorite thing about this film. It’s how a lot of us love here in Egypt; with our eyes only.