Cairo Time
IFC Films | Release Date: August 6, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
As in David Lean's "Brief Encounter," the suspense in Cairo Time comes from what doesn't happen between its pair of "lovers." Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Think "In the Mood for Love" with hookahs instead of chopsticks. Read full review
80
MovielineStephanie Zacharek
Like so many movie love stories before it - from Murnau's "Sunrise" to Linklater's "Before Sunrise," and beyond - Cairo Time is about two wandering lovers, people spending time together without realizing how precious that time will come to be. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Ms. Clarkson's performance as Juliette, the fashion-writer wife of a United Nations functionary, is the film's reason for being. She makes yearning palpable. She turns mysterious silences into a language of love. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
Rarely is an actress asked to do so much with so little -- and even rarer does that actress succeed as well as Clarkson does. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Cairo Time is a valentine to Egypt. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
You may find, as I did, that the lovely twilit moments in this movie stay with one, and that summoning them up in your mind is like slowing down time. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Cairo Time is affectingly gentle, with Juliette slowing down to open up -- a gossamer transformation that Clarkson makes tangible. Read full review
75
ObserverRex Reed
What emerges is time pleasantly spent with a slice of life that examines a romantic détente between two cultures. Like smoke from an Egyptian hookah, the melancholia lingers. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It's a haunting and hypnotic film. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleDavid Lewis
The melancholic, beautiful Cairo Time confirms two things that hardly need confirming: The Egyptian capital is a breathtaking metropolis, and Patricia Clarkson is one of the best actors in the world. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
The time does pass agreeably enough, and if Cairo Time does not amount to much, it does evoke a wistful state of feeling and a complicated city with enough skill and sensitivity that you wish it had dared more. Read full review
70
NPRElla Taylor
Cairo Time is the kind of quietly romantic chamber piece one wants to speak up for, in part to support the small but growing band of Arab women making their mark on national cinemas both East and West. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Cairo Time may be your ticket if you're in the mood for love, but the excursion is a cut-rate journey. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianStan Hall
The plot doesn't really stand up to scrutiny, but Cairo Time works on an emotional level and is a hassle-free way to sample Egypt. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
It's a postcard-lovely movie that, in spite of its best intentions, ends up feeling a little touristy. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin Wilson
If you're interested in a drama about a few days in the life of an American abroad, you may find Cairo Time engaging. But for some viewers, it all may be just too subtle. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
Given the rarity of such movies, and such opportunities for an actress like Clarkson, Cairo Time earns some indulgence for a pace that Westerners may find languid. Read full review
60
Time OutLisa Rosman
For a movie defined by its restraint, this travelogue is remarkably physical; as a valentine to the rueful desire of grown-ups acquainted with both joy and disappointment, the film is a true rarity. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineSteve Ramos
Cairo Time remains smart, compelling and appropriately sad at its finale. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Writer-director Ruba Nadda's film is ultimately like a summertime flirtation that never quite comes to anything. Read full review
60
Village VoiceKarina Longworth
Happily, writer-director Ruba Nadda's emphasis on body language ultimately trumps the clumsiness of her script. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Cairo Time is a kind of bourgeois delusion. It's authentically aggravated but bogusly conceived. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
One disappointment here is that Patricia Clarkson, the queen of indie film, is missing much of her usual spark. Her performance may be aiming for sensual, but too often it comes across more as listless. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterSura Wood
Aside from the sweltering Egyptian climate, little heat or excitement is generated by the film or its attractive stars. Read full review
50
VarietyAlissa Simon
The fourth feature from Canadian writer-helmer Ruba Nadda ("Sabah") has a slightly breathless, old-fashioned feel, calling to mind the cliched fiction found in the type of ladies' magazine the heroine edits. Read full review
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