Clash, 2016
During the heated political protests in Egypt in 2012/2013, two journalists are thrown into the back of a military detention truck. Many other protesters, both Muslim Brotherhood or on the side of the army, soon join them. As the group endures sweltering heat and hostility from within and without the truck, a tentative collaboration forms between the opposing factions with a common humanity building fragile threads between the prisoners.
I'm absolutely a sucker for a single-location film, and while that's not strictly what this is (the police truck moves from location to location several times during the film), the sense of claustrophobia is strongly evoked by keeping the camera confined to the interior of the truck.
The performances are all good, and the characters feel very lived in. Nilli Karim is a standout as a nurse who is trapped in the truck with her husband and her teenage child. Her story parallels a man who is in the truck with his teenage daughter, Aisha.
There are a lot of movies where ostensible enemies become allies in a fight for survival. Something that I appreciated about this film was the way that it acknowledged that the tentative peace that comes from such a situation is, at best, temporary. The people in the truck set aside their differences when pushed tot he bottom of the hierarchy of needs, but when it comes time to get rescued, each side is suddenly back to shouting their slogans. Unfortunately for them, the mob mentality around them is entirely "us or them," and the nuance of a truck full of different ideologies doesn't translate.
I think that the movie is at its best when it gives us little moments of connection between the characters. I particularly liked a scene where Karim's character cares for a man who has cut his mouth by carrying a razor blade in it. As he reveals his motivation for being at the protest, something not actually political, it provides a surprising point of connection with another young man in the truck.
I did find myself flagging a bit toward the end. I kind of wish that the cast had been a little smaller. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and political affiliations to follow. In a weird way it's a tribute to the film that I was getting antsy in the last 30 minutes. I was ready to be out of that van and I was just watching from the safety of my living room!
Not a film whose title I'd ever heard of, and I'm glad I got a chance to watch it.