Name: Hawi
Genre: Drama
Released: 2010-10-28
Duration: 1 h 52 min
Rating: 6.3
Cast: Mahmoud Abodoma, Rina Aref, Hany El Dakkak

Nice idea to show Egypt outside touristic areas, but viewer does not get involved in story

I was intrigued by the announcement in the brochure for the Rotterdam filmfestival 2011. I wondered whether it is really possible to start with a number of loose threads, having no obvious connection with each other, and tie it all together in a logical way and with a logical conclusion? Usually you get an exposition of characters and their motives in the beginning, but this is the other way around.

Having seen the end result I find that it does not work out as expected. This setup does not get the viewer involved, because of the missing context and without any basic information what it is that lets the characters tick. A pity, as I applaud the experiment.

As a bonus to the story, we see life as it is in parts of Egypt that don't appear in travel brochures. I found that worth while, incentive enough to stay seated until the end. Indeed, the final parts of the film tied the respective stories together. That does not suffice to recommend all this to others.

Finally, I want to particularly mention the intro of the final song, that I found very moving, and it let me leave the theater with a positive feeling.

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