MovieChat Forums > Toul omry (2008) Discussion > Literally the worst film i've EVER seen

Literally the worst film i've EVER seen

posted 15 years ago by mergingtraffic
8 replies | jump to latest

Brave move making a gay Egyptian film but what a shame it is so appallingly bad. It looks like the worst amateur student film you've ever seen. The production values are SO SO low, it must have been made by people who had no idea about film. The acting is also TERRIBLE. I'm not sure how it made it's way into the Melbourne gay film festival - usually the quality is fairly reasonable but this had no right to be there. This is not a film, it is a home video.

[–] opiaterein 14 years ago

Simple - no one in Egypt is going to fund a gay-themed film. Professional Egyptian actors are not going to play gay characters. I think possibly you should take a moment to think about cultural aspects of these films before you go on a rant about how terrible the films are. It'll be a long time before there are any gay interest films coming out of anywhere in the Muslim world. The fact that this film was made at all is remarkable progress, regardless of the merits (or lack thereof). If you want "high-quality" gay movies, look for something that comes out of a more socially liberal state. USA, Britain, Scandinavia... etc.

[–] StrontiumAE 13 years ago

I'm sorry opiaterein, but u need to do some research before writing stuff. Egypt, Lebanon and even Tunisia, not to mention Turkey have had movies that have gay characters/thematic elements. And... the ones that have come out of Lebanon and Egypt have had mainstream actors and had mainstream success. Yacobean Building from Egypt and Caramel from Lebanon are two examples.

Review AE http://www.reviewae.blogspot.com & http://ireview-ae.blogspot.com

[–] opiaterein 13 years ago

I've actually seen both of those movies, and I'm not talking about movies like those that have one gay character. I'm talking about movies that are *mainly* about gay characters who are shown in a positive way, not like Yacoubian Building where he's a manipulative predator, or Caramel where she's an unimportant character. So please don't tell me I'm uninformed. Maybe I didn't make my point well, but that's something else entirely.

[–] StrontiumAE 12 years ago

Well your post wasnt entirely clear, but point taken now. However you still need look a little deeper. Steam: The Turkish Bath, although not really a gay themed movie, had its main character as a bisexual. Also Man of Ashes, a Tunisian movie dealt with two men coping with their sexuality after being abused as kids. There are others I am sure, but as I am not really into the subject matter I cannot give you more names.

As for the OP, I agree. The overall quality was poor, the story was cliched and played to some silly fantasies about Arab men, and the acting was overall weak. Plus any drama that resorts to softcore-porn like this, is clearly trying to distract the viewer from the overall weakness of the movie. A good movie doesnt need a big budget to tell a good story, just a good script and good actors.

Review AE http://www.reviewae.blogspot.com & http://ireview-ae.blogspot.com

[–] opiaterein 12 years ago

I looked back at my original post and notice that I said "anywhere in the Muslim world", which wasn't entirely accurate because of The Turkish Bath, but that was a Turkish movie and Turkey is noticeably more liberal than the Arab world, and the Arab world is what I should have said. I haven't heard of Men of Ashes, but I'll be sure to look into it.

[–] verbumctf 12 years ago

'Men of Ashes' is a powerful Tunisian film, beautiful to look at, but has nothing to do with 'All My Life'.
It treats the issue of minors abused by adults in charge (in the film, a master ébiniste [cabinet maker/carpenter] who abuses his apprentices and the youths' difficulties in establishing their sexual identity).

As for 'All My Life'--of course it has some poor production values and sub par acting. Its no glossy, gay entertainment--such as we're becoming used to in the West.
It's something far rarer: a look at the problems of being gay in a contemporary Arab country like Egypt. A remarkably timely, thoughtful and comprehensive look, I think, that concerns also people living in the West.
(Beyond just the episode with the American tourist--which, incidentally, I found an accurate reflection of what I observed when visiting Egypt).

This isn't a film for those who want primarily entertainmant.

[–] StrontiumAE 12 years ago

A movie doesnt need high production values to be good. Just a good story and good actors. This was poorly written and did not know how to juggle the various social issues effecting Egyptian men in a well paced out manner. For example, that whole subplot with that (characature of a) religious guy who was obsessing over that lady felt shoehorned into this film. Characters are introduced with their stories told in a manner that was far from coherent.

Egypt has a legacy of producing some of the best and even most cutting edge movies in the region. All My Life was a wasted opportunity to tell a good story.

(Beyond just the episode with the American tourist--which, incidentally, I found an accurate reflection of what I observed when visiting Egypt).

I used to live there. And given how many millions of people live in the city alone, such stories are bound to happen, but are far from the norm so hardly representative of the country and its men.

Review AE http://www.reviewae.blogspot.com & http://ireview-ae.blogspot.com

[–] verbumctf 12 years ago

.... 'All My Life' was a wasted opportunity to tell a good story.

you're not addressing the point of my post.

I agree the story (and the 'message') would have benefited by better scrip/acting/direction.

My point is that the film raises issues that need to be faced.

Like the practise of the Egyptian police to use decoys on the internet to identify and sequester homosexuals.

The recent change of regime may well make these problems more acute.

Perhaps you were entirely unaware and unconcerned by this when when you lived in Egypt (like the great majority of Egyptians?).

I believe the treatment of minorities has always been a critical issue in Egypt.
Even if the 'homosexual' is an artificial minority identity imported from the West, the issue needs to be exposed and debated.

Concerning the American tourist using abusively Egyptian male prostitutes: this problem is just one of many that arise when moneyed foreign tourists collide with unmoneyed locals.

(for the record--during the ten days I spent among the Egyptians, I encountered honesty, openness, and goodwill.)

Ignis principium omnium rerum