Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Issues 2012
Candidates 2012
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Jack & Suzy Welch
Frederick Kempe
Christopher Papagianis
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
PICTURES
Cannes fashion
Style from the red carpet in Cannes. Slideshow
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Russian arms shipment en route to Syria: report
25 May 2012
Astronauts float inside SpaceX Dragon capsule
|
8:56am EDT
Spain region, Greek exit warnings rattle euro zone
11:20am EDT
Brother of blind Chinese activist goes missing: lawyer
4:07am EDT
Astronauts float inside SpaceX Dragon capsule
8:55am EDT
Discussed
152
Exclusive: U.S. lets China bypass Wall Street for Treasury orders
93
”Battleship” bomb may hit studio’s profits: analysts
81
Protests planned after minister calls for gays to be fenced in
Watched
SpaceX: One giant leap for business in space
Fri, May 25 2012
A look at the UK’s most beautiful face
Thu, May 10 2012
Dead silence then Nasdaq chaos burns Facebook investors
Fri, May 25 2012
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Fleet Week
The U.S. Navy takes Manhattan for a week. Slideshow
The SpaceX mission
A privately owned unmanned rocket blasts off on a mission to be the first commercial flight to the International Space Station. Slideshow
Cannes' Middle East films show Arab Spring unfurl
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Making France's "Intouchables" bankable in the U.S.
Fri, May 25 2012
Horror film "Chernobyl Diaries" draws some protests
Fri, May 25 2012
"Cosmopolis" brings star Pattinson to Cannes
Fri, May 25 2012
Kidman "oversexed Barbie Doll" in gritty Cannes film
Thu, May 24 2012
With kids, career, no time to direct, says Brad Pitt
Wed, May 23 2012
Analysis & Opinion
Department: Mr Varma, please spare us the trauma
Inside Kabul’s theaters
Related Topics
Entertainment »
Fashion »
Film »
Director Bernard-Henry Levy poses during a photocall for the film ''Le Serment de Tobrouk'' at the 65th Cannes Film Festival, May 25, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Jean-Paul Pelissier
By Alexandria Sage
CANNES, France |
Sat May 26, 2012 8:25am EDT
CANNES, France (Reuters) - The "Arab Spring" is the focus of two movies at Cannes this year as film makers present tentative steps towards democracy on the big screen, one year after political upheaval in Libya and Egypt.
While both films deal with contemporary events in the Middle East, "The Oath of Tobruk" ("Le Serment de Tobrouk") is a French-language documentary about the Libyan war with a highly subjective slant.
"After the Battle" ("Baad el Mawkeaa") is a fictional account of the uprising in Cairo from Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah.
At the centre of The Oath of Tobruk - which is not included in the official competition in Cannes - is Bernard-Henri Levy, a prominent French left-wing intellectual, who is co-director, narrator and central subject.
The film follows him meeting rebel leaders and convincing former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to take the lead in the West's response to the crisis, which resulted in Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow last year.
"It's a film that tells how the international community ... can reverse the course of things, stop a massacre and save a population," Levy told a news conference on Saturday, accompanied by several Libyan representatives.
Levy always appears camera-ready in his film, wearing a crisp suit as he walks through rubble, and we see him being cheered at rallies, greeted by politicians (one of whom likens Levy to the French Enlightenment writer and philosopher Voltaire) and interviewed on TV.
We hear little from the rebel leaders themselves and nothing from the local population.
"Those with a cynical turn of mind might be tempted to rename it (the film) 'How I Ran the Libyan Revolution'," wrote British newspaper the Guardian.
At Saturday's press conference - which prompted complaints because it was held before reporters had viewed the film - Levy was accompanied by two men, their faces covered by the Syrian flag, whom he introduced as dissidents who had slipped out of Syria to attend the film festival.
Given the continued bloodshed there, Levy said his documentary should be viewed with a double focus - that of a "war won and one of a tragedy in process".
"The Benghazi of today is called Homs," he said.
LOVE LETTER TO EGYPTIANS
The messy clash between classes, and between the individual and society, is the subject of Nasrallah's film, set against the backdrop of the protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
"Every day something new happened," director Nasrallah told reporters, describing last year's revolution.
"All our energy, thoughts, and emotions were focused on these events and I thought, 'This is the stuff of a film. This is what film is made of'."
In the movie, the drop in tourism with the outbreak of the popular revolution has left horseman Mahmoud (Bassem Samra) out of work.
Manipulated by President Hosni Mubarak's forces, he and other horsemen terrorize protestors by riding at full speed through Tahrir Square in a brazen act of intimidation, a real-life incident that occurred in February 2011.
The film centers on the unlikely relationship between Mahmoud and a secular divorcee, Reem, played by Menna Shalaby, who crosses paths with him.
"The revolution is for you, so they stop paying you crumbs," Reem implores Mahmoud, who struggles to understand how the demonstrators can help improve his lot in life.
Nasrallah - who said his cast and crew were harassed while filming at Tahrir Square at the height of the demonstrations - called After the Battle a love letter to his country.
"If I made this film, it's because Egypt and the Egyptian people - who aren't yet used to democracy, who are making their first steps to recover their dignity, because a dictatorship makes you hate yourself - these people deserve this love letter that we wrote for them with this film."
After the Battle is one of 22 films vying for the top prize at Cannes, the Palme d'Or, to be awarded on Sunday.
(Reporting By Alexandria Sage; Editing by Sophie Hares)
Entertainment
Fashion
Film
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.