The Nile Hilton Incident (2017) User Reviews (34)

Very realistic movie with terrible sound directory

[mkhemar · 7/10 · 20 May 2018]

About the story line .. it's such important to say this movie describes the egyptian political society so close that i - for a while - thought that Noredin Mostafa is a real character ..

There is a fact that the idea of the main story line is real .. Suzanne Tamim was a charming but not widely known lebanese singer who was found dead in her appartment in Dubai in 2008 .. the investigators in Dubai have known the identity of the killer (Mohsen El Sokkary) who was an ex-cop in state security section (a section known for it's brutal ways in protecting the whole regime and always against the people of Egypt) .. later he confessed the murder after incitement by Hisham Talaat Mostafa who was a close member in the circle around Gamal Mobarak ..both Hisham and Mohsen faced trial in Egyptian court and put in prison for 15 yrs ..

The movie describes the Egyptian society and police corruption very well .. may be the fact is much horrifying .. this was one of the main causes of the glorious egyptian revolution in 2011 ..

The only critic to the film is the sound directory is so weak .. sometimes i found it so hard to hear the dialog ..

A decent noir film. Good to c Fares in a leading role aft da Department Q trilogy.

[Fella_shibby · 8/10 · 5 June 2018]

The synopis, the title n the lead actor Fares were enuff for me to check this film. It is good to see Fares in a leading role after the the Department Q trilogy. In this film Fares is a clean shaven cop, who's obsessed with his side part hair cut, he doesnt hesitate to steal money from a dead person's purse but at the same time he takes care of his old n sick dad. While investigating a murder of a famous singer, he has to face some powerful people n police corruption. This film has all the ingredients of a noir film. The film is set during the Egyptian revolution, starting with the protest against increasing police brutality n corruption.

Well crafted political thriller

[alibaba3317 · 7/10 · 30 October 2019]

The Nile Hilton Incident is a political thriller following a murder at the Nile Hilton Hotel in Cairo during the Egyptian Revolution in January 2011.

The movie pulls off both the political elements as well as the more cinematic mysteriousness without being too much of either.

The acting is first class, especially Fares Fares, who probably smoked enough cigarettes to keep Marlboro in business forever. His character is not only interesting, well written and dynamic, but most of the struggle is internal. It's a very restrained act and he does it perfectly. Fares Fares is a legitimately good physical performer, not just here but in general.

The lack of musical score is an interesting choice. It's only used during big character moments and adds a sense of importance to those scenes.

The Nile Hilton Incident is veritable, competently shot and professionally acted.

Awesome film noir from Egypt

[searchanddestroy-1 · 8 July 2017]

I have never seen any crime movie from Egypt yet. Now that's done, and in the best way, far better than an American crap that Hollywood may give us with super heroes who make always it at the end. This is actually a political and social crime movie, in the line of Oliver Marchal and Yves Boisset's features, involving borderline, lost and corrupted cops who look for a meaning to their desperate and useless life. The story of this kind of cop, a widower who doesn't hesitate, even as a commandant whose lieutenants salute him when he arrives on the scene of a crime, to steal the money from the corpse pocket. A pure anti hero for whom the audience can feel great empathy, because so close to the reality of this country where corruption spreads like a disease, aplague, everywhere, from the bottom of the society to the top of thesystem. You can be shocked, as an European, but that's the truth. Thisauthentic film noir remains a TRUE film noir, influenced by the US film noir, but in the best way. Beware, that' a depressing film, totally hopeless but a billions times better, I repeat, than Hollywood craps for which most audiences run for. Such a shame.

Solid good crime thriller set in the days prior to the recent Egyptian revolution.

[ildimo-35223 · 6/10 · 13 December 2017]

"Chinatown" it isn't, though hardly a film can be blamed for not getting close to the archetype, still this is the fountain it draws from. There is a sense of impending doom to it, an urgent cry for some kind political change; unfortunately though, it somehow lacks in editing sharpness while, more importantly, suffering from some kind of belief that the Egyptian revolution would make things better. Yet, I must admit, that its historical naivete is overthrown by its imprinted fatalism and the humanity in Fares presence.

Es una película entretenida. It's an entertaining movie

[Andres-Camara · 6/10 · 23 September 2018]

Para mi gusto no llega a ser una película como la habrían hecho en Hollywood pero no está mal. Tiene ritmo. No te aburres. La vez no te pierdes. Otra cosa es que sea una de esas películas que cuando termina digas, que película he visto, que buena, pues no

Los actores están muy bien. Si hasta los que hacen una secuencia.

La iluminación es bonita, está bien hecha y ayuda a contar la historia. Te mete de lleno en ese mundo.

La dirección es correcta. No aburre. No cuenta con la cámara. Pero al menos te cuenta una historia.

Pero vamos que no pasara a los anales del cine.

For my taste it does not become a movie as they would have done it in Hollywood but it's not bad. It has rhythm. You do not get bored. The time you do not get lost. Another thing is that it is one of those movies that when you finish saying, what movie have I seen, how good, because not

The actors are very good. Yes even those who make a sequence.

The lighting is beautiful, well made and helps tell the story. It gets you into that world.

The address is correct. Do not bore It does not have the camera. But at least he tells you a story.

But let's not go to the annals of cinema

Too many plot holes to be convincing

[euroGary · 6/10 · 16 October 2017]

Based on real-life events, 'The Nile Hotel Incident' is set in Cairo just as the Arab Spring hits Egypt. Corrupt police major Noredin works out of the station run by his equally-corrupt uncle. One morning he is called to a swanky hotel where a beautiful young woman has been found with her throat slit. He arrives to find the crime scene has been compromised by his fellow officers: one policeman has trampled through the blood; another is fiddling with the scantily-clad corpse's clothing; and a third is relieving himself in the toilet. The district prosecutor, also present, orders breakfast from room service and charges it to the dead woman. Things are not looking good: even Noredin casually takes money from the dead woman's purse before beginning his investigation. Meanwhile, in a secondary plot line, the Sudanese immigrant who discovered the body tries to stay out of the killer's clutches. When she eventually meets Noredin, will he help her, or will his corruption put her at even greater risk?

Although set in Egypt and with a largely Arabic cast, this film is actually a Swedish/Danish/German/French co-production, not Egyptian (I doubt we would have got the topless scenes otherwise). I've got to say, I've seen better. Noredin, corrupt to the core, is a difficult character to like: and, after the investigation is officially closed, we are never told why he continues with it. Nor are his leaps in logic when accusing three (count 'em!) separate people of the murder adequately explained. But there are also good points: the scene where one of the people Noredin has accused of the murder escapes is done in such an unexpected way it is a total surprise (to me, anyway).

Everybody has their price and everybody wants it too

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 14 October 2017]

"The Nile Hilton Incident" is a new 2017 movie that is a co-production between all kinds of countries in all kinds of languages that tells us the story of a police officer investigating the murder of a young woman who is found dead in a hotel room. The very first scene with said woman already made clear about the police there in Egypt. One orders a shrimp cocktail, the other uses the toilet potentially destroying evidence and a young officer who can identify the victim as a famous singer is told to stay quiet. Without the main character played by Fares Fares, the whole thing would have disappeared as a suicide right away. The writer and director here of these 110 minutes is Tarik Saleh and this certainly has the potential to become his most known work to date. I am not sure if I would agree with others calling this a modern film noir, but maybe it is true and even if you only see it in reference to the witness' skin. It's maybe a crime drama mostly and I would not call it a thriller as when something happens, like somebody being killed, it happens all very quickly and there is never a lot of tension built up.

Fares Fares shines of course thanks to his physicality, but I also think he is a decent actor. I liked him in Kvinden i buret for example too. In this one here, his character is maybe the only one where the title of my review does not apply, but what can one honest cop do against the system. In the end, he is on the ground symbolic for the law and for justice being kicked in the butt gently-speaking. I think I liked the first half more than the second and I may perhaps have given it an even higher rating had they been able to keep the high level from early on, which would have turned it into one of my 2017 favorites. It probably isn't in there, but it was still a pretty strong watch. In the second half I struggled a bit with the way they included the revolution and the revelation about the protagonist's boss may also have been slightly too absurd, even if it makes sense from the perspective that really everybody there could be bought. Or the beat-up scene with the young cop came a bit out of nowhere too. Other than that, there were some rocky moments when new characters were introduced like the hotel manager guy filming with his camera. But that is just a minor criticism. For a film that comes fairly close to the 2-hour mark, it really flew by and felt authentic and entertaining from start to finish. Finally, also a thumbs-up to Hania Amar, who may have been the most stunning I have seen in films all year. And I have seen a great deal. Shame they wrote her out so quickly, another reason why the second 55 minutes are not on par with the first 55. But overall, this film gets a thumbs-up of course from me and it is nice to see films like this one depicting areas we don't get to see very often in films here in Europe and it is especially nice if said films turn out as well as this one here. I definitely recommend the watch. Go see it.

Refreshingly different take on an Egyptian story

[labolts · 7/10 · 23 January 2023]

Fares Fares does a pretty good job as the main character. The cultural insights and camera work kept the viewer on the edge, Good choice of music as well. Too bad this film wasn't actually shot in Egypt, it still captured the aura of the country in my opinion.

My biggest gripe was a technical issue with audio. Sound effects played way too loud and drowned out conversations when characters spoke. Clearly there was a misalignment, The other personal issue was the Arabic accent of one of the female actresses. She was meant to be from Tunis but clearly wasn't a native Arabic speaker and it showed. Surely they could've found an Arabic speaking actress to play that role.

Noredin Mostafa against everyone else!

[FilmFlowCritics · 9/10 · 21 November 2017]

This is my highlight of the year!

Who would have thought, that a random Egyptian movie would be one of my diamonds of 2017. Filmed in Casablanca, as it was not possible to film in Egypt, forbidden to even screen in Egypt... This movie will take you into the deepest corruption of Cairo. Fares Fares, who plays the lead Noredin Mostafa, is a pleasure to watch and you actually feel, like you are in this mess yourself, as the camera work is so brilliant, that you feel like Cairo is all around you.

After seeing the movie, I can understand why Egypt wont let it screen it in their country, as there is way to much dirty stuff that this movie digs up. It is not a story I could personally relate to in any kind of way. I'm not a police man, not in Egypt, but still...this movie grabs you right in and makes you feel restless and worried, because everyone around you tries to play tricks on you, so who can you trust, if no one is trustworthy anymore?

Go into that movie with an open mind, no expectations, just like I did and thank me later.

Film noir based on real events

[esteban1747 · 7/10 · 16 January 2022]

What is original in this film is that a gendarme named Saleh gets fully into the adverse realities of the Egyptian world prior to the fall of president Hosni Mubarak, and discovers the entire entanglement of corruption existing at the levels of the repressive and the governing dome. Saleh addresses the issue of corruption in a believable way, where he is just as corrupt as everyone else around him. Everything was paid and everything was bought, whoever did not enter the game was in serious danger of death. The film shows the beginning of the popular protests, which demanded the resignation of the entire Egyptian government and improvements in general for the population. The violence was evident, on the one hand, the repressive forces with all their anti-riot weapons and the population with the force of their cries demanding freedom and well-being.

Excellent cop movie

[kohle-69615 · 9/10 · 16 October 2017]

Movie about a corrupt cop who tries to solve a murder to a songstress in Cairo (Egypt) and gets deeper and deeper into the crooked administration of the government.

This is one of the best cop films of recent times.

It's really great to have a seldom seen location for crime. I think many are fed up with New York, L. A., San Francisco, Chicago ... .

The acting of the disillusioned cop is very good.

The film score is unobtrusive and doesn't push to the fore.

Cinematography is awesome. There are cool drives through nightly Cairo.

The movie is at the same level like other great films about corruption e.g. Chinatown or Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara).

7/10 Thriller Movie 🎥🎥

[kamelelghaly · 7/10 · 1 July 2023]

The movie is great to watch and I will would watch it again sooner or later.

The story is adapted from reality as per the death of a famous Arabian singer, you would related to many events in the movie if you are Egyptian like me.

Pros:

• Fares acting is great and his perfection to Egyptian Arabic is something that I truly admired

• The Actors overall were great

• Good Plot with good series of incidents that maintains interest throughout the movie

Cons:

• Kamal character for me was one dimensional, only talking about money. I felt that the character should have additional depth.

• the dialogue at some points was lame and poor.

• I disliked the introduction of the revolution and felt it was irrelevant.

slight disappointment

[germainriviere · 5/10 · 29 October 2018]

An interesting scenario that shows the corruption in Egypt. but not credible actors and an intensity too slow

Fair Noir

[GManfred · 16 August 2017]

Egyptian film star Fares Fares is the beleaguered police detective trying to solve the murder of a prostitute at the Nile Hilton, but encounters nothing but roadblocks and misdirection, some laid by his own superiors. In Egypt, they apparently frown on attempts to solve crimes committed by top government figures. And to get information or to get out of trouble, everything has a price. Money is always changing hands. The viewer wonders if the detective will ever get the chance to find the killer.

Sounds like an interesting murder mystery, but truth be told, it's not as exciting or mysterious as it could be. Director Tarik Saleh tries mightily but his efforts come up short. "The Nile Hilton Incident" is heavy on atmosphere but lacks clarity to hold the audience's interest. Corruption, graft and bribery abound and the bleak, washed out color photography is in keeping with the squalid streets of the Egyptian cities and the moral underpinnings of local officials. The 'perp' is known early on but his identity gets lost the muddled mix of names and titles of all the government employees involved. And, without giving it away, noir fans are used to a more satisfying resolution of matters than Director Saleh has afforded us.

Average thriller

[alexanderliljefors · 6/10 · 2 April 2024]

Ive seen some of Tarik Salehs other films and i really love his style of making films! Finally was able to watch one of his most famous film. And i got intrigued that Tarik did a thriller/murder/detective story.

Fares Fares, as usual, does a very strong and good performance!

Outstanding good Soundtrack that fit really well into the film!

The manuscript feels very realistic! Very well written. Aswell the filming and the cinematography. Pretty well directed aswell.

However, i gotta say that in the middle it gets pretty confusing. I feel like it looses its red thread abit. It gets abit more understandable after a while.

But it's nothing unique really. Nothing that stands out. A well made film, but nothing more. A pretty average thriller.

A must see movie about the unbelievable corruptiion in our world

[abisio · 9/10 · 18 March 2018]

Fares Fares (born in Lebanon) is a very well known actor in Sweden where he starred in the Department Q series; he has some presence in other countries but sadly not in an important role like the one in The Nile Hilton Incident

Fares is Noredin Mostafa; a very corrupt cop in Egypt in 2011. The first few minutes of the movie shows the small scams the Egyptian police commits until a horrible assassination occurred in the Nile Hilton hotel.

Based on real facts and with the background of the Egyptian revolution in 2011, the movie paced spiraling events keep you tied to the screen until the formidable ending (which has nothing to do with the feel good American endings)

A singer is killed in his room. The killer identity emerges immediately; however the investigation is not important; but the corruption of a system that protects rich and punish lower classes and immigrants (ring a bell ?)

Some events sound like joke but are far from it. It was (or still is) the tragic reality of countries where the political system became the enemy of the people.

In brief; a hard but very necessary movie

Potrait of Decedancy and Corruption

[rawisnwo · 9/10 · 14 August 2018]

This movie does a very good job of showing a realistic view of modern day Egypt.

Corruption permeates everywhere. It is a way of life, especially among government employees under the regime of Hosni Mubarak.

Police Commander Noredin is corrupt and at a low point in his life: he works, collects bribes, browses facebook at an internet cafe, heads home and watches tv while drinking a beer and smoking a joint. He then goes to sleep for the cycle to repeat. Noredin's wife and child had been killed in an auto-crash and is it heavily alluded to that he got his job thanks to police General Kammal, his uncle. He helps his disabled father but has lost his respect, due to his corruption.

A murder then occurs at the Nile Hilton hotel. Noredin is unable to decide whether to commit to the case or just collect the appropriate bribes and close it. He eventually decides to pursue the case at all costs.

This film touches on many aspects of Egyptian society. From the Sudanese immigrants to the working class, middle class, artisans and elite - we get a perspective of what daily life in Cairo is like.

Being unfamiliar with Egypt, the dialogue was very amusing and fresh. Some of the idioms and digs had me laughing out loud.

I must also give a lot of credit to many of the actors that made this film particularly engaging. Fares Fares plays Noredin very well as we can sense his perspectives and viewpoints clearly. Oddly enough, he reminded me of Harrison Ford in Blade Runner: cold, detached but intrigued nonetheless. Another nod should go to Mari Malek, who plays Salma - the Sudanese murder witness. She really shows the helplessness and vulnerability of an immigrant in her situation.

I highly recommend this film, especially to anyone who like murder-mysteries, film noir or historical dramas as it has shades of all those genres in it.

view

[rafidahgirlxxx · 4/10 · 28 December 2021]

Of course since we get the whole thing from the viewpoint of one police official, there might be some freedom creatively. And you may know the main actor from his role in a swedish crime series. Here he goes back to his native tongue/language, but is as terrific as he is in Swedish.

Egyptian bad cop turns out great.

[stuka24 · 10/10 · 20 June 2018]

Not you "Visit to Egypt" postcard movie, this European-Egyptian coproduction had me grabbed to my seat at the local cinema.

Noredin Mostafa is not the talkative kind, nor a very likeable chap. Salwa, the slave labourer living on the edge of Egyptian society, isn't very chatty either, she probably suffered too much already. But what she saw is key to the movie. People like Salwa or "Clinton" are invisible to powerful people like Hatem Shafiq and Kammal Mostafa, Noredin's uncle, who may not be very bright but knows how to defend the status quo. Gina is very beautiful but also, not a very nice character.

Nobody is very clean morally yet this Nordic film shot in Egypt succeeds because of that, it doesn't preach when the truth is all there is to have.

The "cinema verité" approach, nervous camera, gritty social conditions, "trust nobody" psychology, cheap music, "public project" (cheap) buildings shot as if they were the main character. And maybe they are: social classes, specially the very poor (Salwa), the low middle class (the corrupt cops) and the mega rich (Hatem) show all the contradictions of capitalist society painfully. There, on camera, it seems too much to be endured by the people, specially given the corruption everywhere. And in fact this movie, set on 2011 revolutionary times in Egypt, show what happens when the people can't bear enough. I've seldom seen so much police brutality under a "democracy". Surely reality was much worse.

They all preach on moral values, on bad TV, in the family, your bosses, the national security (like a third world FBI), but act on double standards. Gold rules. Money may be a "burning steel" when you go to paradise, as one character says, but in this life, it seems to buy life and death. The poor can be killed like flies and nobody cares.

Violent and beautiful film, great music and photography. Acting, that looks non-professional, is all the better for it.

Watching this movie is like going to Egypt, but the real Egypt. That is probably like any other third world or "developing" country. Only watching it confortably makes it all the more visible and painful. Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti at "Caro diario" says that he'd like to shoot a film only with buildings. This film is close to Moretti's dream. You live in this film's buildings. Cheap pensions where people live like animals, bad "unhomely homes" like Noredin's, pricey yet vulgar "love nest" like Gina's place. Palaces like construction tycoon Hatem's, with so many employees at his service it's hard enough to count them all.

I hope this underdog movie gets the popularity it deserves. And people flocking to Egypt, but the real one.

The story plays as a metaphor for Cairo's wider problems, never preaching but effectively humanising. ( B+ Movie) My Ratings 9/10

[THE-BEACON-OF-MOVIES-RAFA · 9/10 · 10 February 2020]

Oily, exotic, violent and hopeless, Crime in Cairo is a thriller in which a murder that the paternalistic scheme calls out to be "passionate" is gradually revealed as something less simple in the eyes of Noredin, a policeman who knows the mechanisms of the system of life and survival in a city that wobbles from its foundations, but a policeman who knows that we must get out of that mechanism, that there is something beyond the purchase and sale of everything - witnesses, guilty parties, of innocents - in a police system that is nothing but a reflection of the enormous corruption that prevails in the Egypt of 2011, at the beginning of the Arab spring

Very bad movie

[yoooooooomi · 1/10 · 29 September 2018]

Very very bad movie, I contains wrong facts about the revolution, silly story, bad actors. Waste my time and money.

(No) Vacancy

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 10 March 2018]

A real incident and a fictional movie about it. I did not study the case/incident so I can't tell you anything more than is depicted in the movie. Of course since we get the whole thing from the viewpoint of one police official, there might be some freedom creatively. And you may know the main actor from his role in a swedish crime series. Here he goes back to his native tongue/language, but is as terrific as he is in Swedish.

So while this is a real life drama, it's also a crime thriller. It's quite bleak and it's also quite slow. There is nothing flashy about it and it really does feel like a real story. Our protagonist is not some larger than life superhero cop. He has his flaws and he has his virtues. A really likeable movie, and one where you can really root for someone ... whether the praying is necessary and helps or not is to be seen ... and you should see it

Excellent movie that takes you there.

[carl-axness · 10/10 · 10 April 2018]

The best police murder drama that I have seen in sometime. Excellent acting by both Fares Fares and the witness to the crime, Mari Malek. We are led into Mubarek's Egypt, a world where corruption is the norm and no one, even Noredin Mostafa, the police detective investigating the murder, is immune.

The film contrasts the lives of the rich and poor in Cairo, with the corruption reaching the highest levels and where respect for human rights is non-existent. The story is not so much about solving the mystery, but more about whether justice is possible in such a setting. In the background is the mounting tension of the political changes. The plot takes a new direction when the revolution and political upheaval impinge on the drama and suddenly the pace of the movie becomes frantic. I particularly enjoyed the ironic ending, which may be something of a political commentary.

It is unfortunate that the movie cannot be seen in Egypt at this time, but hopefully sometime in the future, Egyptians will be able to enjoy it!

Useful Tourist Guide

[david-fisher26 · 1/10 · 22 July 2020]

When I saw Zorba the Greek as a child, I swore never to visit Greece. Having seen this film, I shall never visit Egypt.