Thankfully Egyptian filmmaker
Mohamed Diab simplifies the
political background of his claus-
trophobic drama, Clash, without
ever dumbing it down. The mov-
ie begins with some text that
explains in simple terms how at
the time of the movie’s events,
2013, the Egyptian Army has
ousted the Muslim Brotherhood
from power, leading to street
clashes between supporters of
both groups. It’s a lot easier to
comprehend than the opening
crawls of any of the Star Wars
prequels, and it sets the scene
for the drama to follow.
Diab’s camera stays in the stuffy
confines of a police truck (what
we might call a ‘Paddy Wagon’
or a ‘Black Mariah’), first intro-
ducing us to an Egyptian-Amer-
ican journalist (Hany Adel) and
his locally hired photographer
(Mohamed El Sebaey) who are
arrested after finding themselves
caught up in the trouble. They’re
quickly joined by a group of
secularists, arrested despite
their support for the authorities.
Watch the trailer for Clash
NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 8
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