Betsy Sharkey’s film pick of the week: ‘Cairo Time’

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Fight that sinking September sensation that summer’s truly over with the heat and beauty of ‘Cairo Time,’ a delicious escape that should be experienced before it’s pushed out by the coming wave of fall films.

A small, intimate tale of not-so-young lovers portrayed by Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig, the film luxuriates in the considerable talent of these very fine actors. As Juliette and Tareq, a pair brought together by happenstance, they make great use of all the breathing room and minimal dialogue they’ve been given to create an exquisite mood piece.

‘Cairo Time’ is also a postcard to a city that Canadian writer-director Ruba Nadda clearly adores -- the grime, poverty and sheer density momentarily swept under cinema’s magic carpet. The filmmaker has become something of a specialist in telling grown-up love stories well (her 2000 short, ‘I Would Suffer Cold Hands for You,’ comes with one of the best titles for a romance ever). This film suggests a growing confidence. There’s a smart restraint to the storytelling, and she brings an exceptional eye that creates an evocative landscape for her would-be couple to meander through.

Here the characters are bought together by Juliette’s unexpectedly absent husband; an affair couldn’t be further from their minds. But that friendship born of necessity -- the husband asks Tareq to watch over her until he returns -- moves to a languid flirtation as they wander the ancient city, their differences sparking both friction and flame. There is an authenticity to it all, with their haltingly uncomfortable first conversation setting the tone for the tentative way their relationship will find its footing. These are not fools rushing in.

Still, it doesn’t take long before they begin to fall under the spell of the city and each other, with Siddig and Clarkson using their interplay to construct classic opposites-attract moments in ways that feel fresh. The heat, their heat, rises slowly off the desert sands.

This is a quiet film with a gentle pull, but if you let it, ‘Cairo Time’ will cast its spell on you too.

-– Betsy Sharkey