Can I have a selfie?

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Films of 2021 

#40 : سعاد (Souad)

The lives of three young Egyptians become tragically entangled in Ayten Amin’s sharp, subtle coming-of-age drama that offers a shrewd and poignant study of social media identities.

Unsurprisingly, I know nothing about this film - Egyptian coming-of-age dramas not being my specialist subject.  So let's dive straight in...

...and we meet Souad on the bus telling a couple of stories about her relationships which are obviously and intriguingly different - you're thinking she's either a fantasist or a conwoman.  But then for the next ten minutes we're just hanging out with her and her mates and nothing happens!  We're then given hints that one of the guys she referred to in her earlier stories may at least exist, but the extent of the relationship they have appears to be tenuous at best.  And we then spend some time with her and her family, which suggests that an online relationship would seem perfectly understandable - anything to give her an escape from them! (except for her sister, who is pretty much the only sensible person in the film)

And, just as I'm thinking this film isn't really going anywhere, it delivers a massive plot development - pretty much out of nowhere (although it would be interesting to rewatch it again to see how many pointers were given that I missed).  And that's all I can tell you really - the rest of the film is the various characters trying to make sense out of what's happened, whilst all seeming to be somewhat out of their depth.  And I'll tell you who else was out of their depth - me, because none of it made the slightest sense to me.  And then it ends.  Errr - OK.

The film does present an interesting juxtaposition of traditional and modern (particularly relating to social media) viewpoints, but does so in a very indistinct style.  Maybe that was the intention,  maybe it is clearer to those that live such a life, maybe it wasn't possible to be any more obvious - and maybe I'm just being generous.  To be honest, I've no idea.

It is well acted - the IMDB page suggests no-one in the film has acted before and you wouldn't know it for the major characters - they all do a fine job, although in a lot of cases I get the impression they're just making the best of what they've been given because they don't do a lot whilst the camera jumps around.  The film is shot in a handheld camera style - a little too much movement for my liking, but it fits in well with the subject of social media.  It seems like it was the director's first film (and he also co-wrote it) - I guess he's happy with the critical reception but I can't say I'm going to looking out for any future work from the lad.

All in all, I'm a little puzzled as to why this film is on the list - I've read some reviews online and whilst I don't necessarily disagree with them, I can't help but feel they've read more into the film than is actually there.  Either that or I just have an underactive imagination - oh well, never mind eh.  Overall, I think there is an interesting film to be made on this subject, but unfortunately I don't think this is it - I'd be quite interested to discuss it with anyone that's seen it, but I suspect I'm gonna be out of luck on that front.

At the time of writing, the film is available to rent or buy on Amazon or Apple - if you decide to do so, then give me a shout afterwards and let me know what I missed.  Looking forward to chatting to ya!

#41 - All very odd
#39 - Interesting but not great