CAIRO - Films whether American, Egyptian, or Japanese have a distinctive style to them. When a foreigner sees a film made by another culture, many things may not actually elicit their attention or go completely over their heads. This may even be the case with the film as a whole picture, and many essential references may pass them by, unless they know that particular country very well. For example, an Egyptian audience watching an American film set in New York City will actually miss a lot of what the films is trying to portray because they're outside looking in on a foreign culture. As for American audiences, when they watch the same films, they usually get the ‘feel' right away which the film-maker is trying to present by setting their film in New York. Indeed, the city that the film is shot or set in often becomes an important character in the film. Watching a film whose setting is New York, you are already going in having an (informed) understanding of the who these characters are; a lot of them might just be the stereotypical roles of the characters being pushy and aggressive, for example. Other directors who have become intertwined with a particular city, like Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese with New York or M. Night Shyamalan with Philadelphia, these directors and other directors make their location pretty much a character; it's part of the story, that's why films set in New York or Los Angeles, or Tokyo, or Cairo and Alexandria are marvelous, because they are the added flavour to the plot. It's not just about a throwaway concept, such as an accent for a particular character who pronounces “Ana” (I) “Ani” leading the audience to assume he must be from Alexandria (which is particularly annoying because very few Alexandrians actually speak that way). Regardless though, it's different than such material which is used in, for example, a character from New York. You can tell which part of the city he is from: is he an hipster from the Village , or uptown chic? You can sort of tell something like this with Cairo, but it's broader: you are either from an upscale neighbourhood like Zamalek and Garden City, or from the other side of the river. Now however, Egyptians are more than preoccupied with the aftermath of the revolution every day. As such, the main thing on everyone's minds seems to be political analysis. I guess you must be a political analyst to really know what's going on in your own country. Has the country lost its flavour because Egyptian citizens have this one thing on their minds? Has our personality become bland because our mind is fixated on the occurrence of a revolution? A city is only a reflection of its people, so does that mean that all cities in Egypt have become soulless? Life does, or should go on after the revolution. Anna Frank, the teenager whose diary was written during the Holocaust, had her book become one of the bestselling books of all time. Was it so intriguing because you see a teenage girl whose personality is still intact? It just happens that she has a war going on around her, while she and her family hid from the Nazis. It might be easier for a teenager to be more self-involved, but Egyptians don't seem to just have things happen around them or pass by, not even a football game like last Wednesday's game. In contrast, Palestinian films are often widely critically acclaimed, but I personally usually find them a little bit dull because for the most part, their lives just seem to revolve around the conflict that the Palestinian live in, and whatever part of the country the film is shot in all seems the same. Cairo, even with its pollution, traffic, garbage, and many others problems, has this unbroken spirit that was evidenced by its people. But now, the people and places seem to blend together, and that will be evident in the coming cinema, because these films won't be about a particular neighbourhood, town or city. They will be collectively about a country, and as great that unity might be, it's not really fitting for a good film. With what was happening during the revolution, it did not really matter emotionally where it was located, whether it was in Al Tahrir Square in Cairo, or downtown Alexandria, or Suez, the revolution was in full effect. It was the collective anger Egyptian exploding at once, and people were going through the same emotions at the same time. When you saw these images on television (not Egyptian television, of course), these images of violence, you might not have been really sure where exactly this particular scene was happening; if you could get a glance of the Corniche, you would figure it's Alexandria, or you see a bit of the Nile and you'll assume it's Cairo, but the locations were all as important and vital to what happening. But when the crowds disperse, and everyone goes home, the city empties out and the city is just standing there all alone. Does its interest go away because of its action, or does it hold on to its strength? Will an audience still appreciate the beauty of these Egyptian cities without the revolution's chaos? Right now, it seems doubtful that people will even recognise an empty Al Tahrir Square – not that it was ever completely empty ñ but protest-free. Not just the square, but the energy of Cairo, does it just go hand in hand now with the anarchy, or will this eventually add to the city's charm? Ultimately, it's just too early to tell either way.
