English summary

‘Impressively convincing’ ‘

Unpredictable and sinister right up to the end.’

‘Suspenseful film noir’; ‘Heart-wrenching.’

 Tightly constructed political and psychological thriller by the Swedish director Tarik Saleh (Swedish mother, Egyptian father) that masterfully works up to a breath-taking denouement. Winner of the Grand Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival 2017.

During the Arab Spring, a few weeks before the major demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, detective Noredin is investigating the murder of a club singer in the city’s Nile Hilton Hotel. When he finds out that Egyptian politicians are connected with the murder, he takes the victim’s side and decides to do whatever it takes to resolve the case before it is shut down. This lonely policeman soon finds the case is a hornet’s nest. And in the background, the unrest in Tahrir Square is escalating.

The murder and everything connected to it are all related to the bigger story. The filmmakers ensure that we gradually come to understand why Egypt was ready to explode. The corruption, the gulf between rich and poor, the opportunistic relationships, the state terror: all these problems occur in miniature in this murder mystery.