bozo2bozo2

This is a "Crash"-style story of lives in Dubai, set, apparently, just before the financial crash. Although it resembles, somewhat, "Crash," it manages to pull away from the most obvious clichés as it unfolds three or four representative stories from some of the major populations who live and work in the city. The low rating (currently 4.5) is entirely unjustified; it's a solid, competent work with only a few off notes, and in many ways it represents the arrival of first-class film-making to the Emirates. Each of the three major plots - Emirati, European-expat, and Indian-expat - have a strong narrative arc, and each come to a satisfying, if not always happy, end. In all, it's a fascinating view into worlds rarely, if ever, depicted on the world screen.

This is a movie where coming in late (like the couple behind me tonight) will lead you to be utterly mystified. The movie unfolds and envelopes you with a complex plot with a sudden shift at the end. If you've read the book, you know what happens; nonetheless, the movie is worth seeing if only for its absolutely pitch-perfect depiction of the characters, environments, and situations. (Actually, I gained an insight into the book by watching the movie, which for me is extremely rare.) I don't give tens - a movie would have to basically be the Second Coming for that to happen - so this 9 is about as good as it gets.

By the way, the version I saw here in the UAE was bowdlerized; if you're looking for that crucial scene that was snipped, search YouTube for "Atonement" and "GQ."