Film Review: Reviewed By Dave Aldridge; 3 out of 5

Here's a movie that proves the British film industry is becoming as multi-ethnic as Britain itself. It's directed by an Anglophile Egyptian, and stars the French-born Moroccan Saïd Taghmaoui (from La Haine) as Ali, a student from Egypt struggling to become a successful screenwriter before the expiry of his visa. Essentially a series of encounters with characters Ali meets as he flits in and out of a succession of rented London rooms, this combination of drama, comedy and tinges of the fantastical does not really gel. The least successful characters tend to be the most contrived, including a Marilyn Monroe impersonator (US "import" Juliette Lewis) and a blind woman (Anna Massey) who believes Ali to be the reincarnation of her long-dead Egyptian lover. However, vibrant performances and realistic location shooting just about shade things in its favour.

Plot Summary

Comedy drama starring Saïd Taghmaoui and featuring Juliette Lewis. Ali, an Egyptian living in London, wants to be a screenwriter, but his life isn't going according to the script. Forced to flit between a succession of rented rooms, he encounters characters as bizarre as a Marilyn Monroe impersonator and a blind woman who's convinced that he's the reincarnation of her long-dead Egyptian lover.