Excuse My French (2014) User Reviews

Really Classy

[king_of_sport93 · 9/10 · 13 March 2014]

Simply majestic ... I didn't expect to see an Egyptian movie of that quality nowadays. In fact I lost hope of seeing one a long time ago .. The casting is amazing and reflects the great effort done by the amazing young director -Amr Salama- who created a wonderful movie and showed clearly the two different societies living in the same country , Egypt. The plot is creative and discussed the two most complicated problems in Egypt nowadays which are the Religious Persecution and the Sexual Harassment clearly thorough out the movie .. Though the reality is quite depressing yet the movie tried to focus our attention on it in a nice way ... The movie also shows the various degree of civilization and the mentality of the society in Egypt .. The main character which was Hani who was suffering from inability to fuse with the surroundings in the new school whatever he did in a way similar to the life of the director/writer as he mentioned before .. That movie has restored my faith in the Egyptian cinematography again and has given me hope that we may see a lot of Egyptian movies of the same quality soon ... My rating 9/10

A good movie on the way of Wes Anderson

[dr_atef90 · 8/10 · 6 October 2014]

Inspite of I am Egyptian, i don't like Egyptian movies especially at the last 4 years except few of them,but this one is totally different from what Egypt used to produce last years. It is about a touchy issue in Egyptian community,the relationship between Muslims & Christians,the director choose the school children to deal with that issue demonstrating also the corruption in educational system in Egypt & the differences between private schools & governmental ones.He showed in a simple way that the religious persecution issue in Egypt is such a myth. The director used a new way in directing according to Egyptian cinema,if an American saw this movie he might think it is one of Wes Anderson movies, The same way in directing,same bright colors,same movement of camera, the centralization method of camera which Wes is famous with & even the music sounded like Wes movies. May some think it's copying,but I like it especially I'm a fan of Wes movies. The scenario was great & touchy & showed the characters feelings. The ending was brilliant showed Muslim & Christian are equal,you cant recognize them from each other in Egyptian community(when we discover at the end of the movie that the teacher we thought she is a Christian,discovered to be a Muslim),It showed that they are equal even in punishment at the end of the movie. This is one of Egyptian modern cinema finest & I support to produce more like that. 4 out of 5

Light-hearted and energetic.

[Sergeant_Tibbs · 7/10 · 24 January 2015]

One of my biggest regrets of attending last year's London Film Festival is skipping out on Excuse My French when it was my next screening. It's always refreshing to find rare films as an inflight movie. Despite the circumstances, Excuse My French is still a film with a great rhythmic energy, reminiscent of the auteur work of Wes Anderson and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. While this pace is kept up throughout the whole film, it's disappointing that it doesn't implement enough quirk or edge into its content. It brushes over clichés, albeit utilising them well, but not exploring them beyond archetypal necessity. Films that dive into school environments with such immersion and heightened fantasy are usually hit-and-miss for me, and this is both at the same time. Perhaps if I understood or related more to the Muslim/Christian tension in Egypt then the film's political themes could've resonated more, but it's entertaining and empathetic at the very least. Being different and pushed around is easy to relate to in any form and well executed here. With his idiosyncratic style, Amr Salama could easily give us a couple of great commercials before breaking through with a mainstream movie if he wished to do so.

7/10

Very realistic yet very funny

[samerguihad · 10/10 · 24 May 2020]

And it address two issues at the same time... the two very different societies living in the same country... and the other the attempts of the Christians to reach Full acceptance amongst the society... in spite in my humble And from my observation the second issue has been improved dramatically since the revolution...

A Christian kid suddenly is forced to go to a public school after his father dies and because of a misunderstanding everyone thinks that he's a Muslim.

[mondasalem · 12 February 2014]

La Moakhzaa is a movie which tackles controversial issues in the Egyptian society starting from religion, class distinction, and public schools education to harassment. The impressive dialog as well as the effectively employed music kept the audience on the edge of their seats as they were drawn in the movie right away. The plot starts by the death of the main character's father. Hany AbdAllah an upper middle class Christian boy and his widowed mother face trouble as they inherit nothing but debt.

After his father's death, his mother is obliged to transfer him from an international private school to a public boys-only school. The new school is where his struggle begins, forced either to mingle or to be treated as an outcast. Being from a different background, Hany faces trouble trying to fit in. However, it turns out to be not as easy as thought. All his trials to belong go in vain which leads to his loss of identity being treated as an outcast. Eventually, he hides his true religion to prevent himself from being twice alienated.

The public school serves as a minuscule to the local society which is governed by ignorance, dogmas, intolerance and discrimination. Hany then realizes that he's not the only one who is trying to conform, he finds his teachers, Nelly and Amin- who was once his friend. It surprises him that Amin acts as a totally different person in that society. However later on, he could not vent his anger and fight for virtues which make no sense in such society.

In addition, Hany relates to his science teacher, Nelly because she somehow looked like his mother or resembled the background he came from. He could not understand why other boys viewed her in a different sense only because she did not look like them. He attempts to warn her from the other boys' plan to harass her but his attempt is in vain. Later on when he meets her once again in church, he is startled to discover that she's a Muslim which states that normal moderate Muslim tolerant people do exist somewhere is this fragmented society apart from hate speech and nonsense clichés.

At the end, Hany AbdAllah deforms into a schizophrenic double-standard character having to deal with both societies; that which he comes from and the other which he has found himself in.

Despite the movie's minor shortcomings, La Moakhza is a creative movie shedding light on serious issues in the Egyptian society through a comic scenario. It is well worth a few hours of your time for it will certainly give you a good laugh.

Universal and particular

[jimcheva · 8/10 · 4 February 2022]

One thing I like about watching countries where there is a dominant belieft system is seeing how much remains the same even under various forms of ideological oppression. This reminds me of a Persian film where the presence of the mullahs is clear, yet most fo the problems of the main couple would be very familiar to Americans. Here we see a kid from a minority culture "passing" for a long time and the varied reactions of those around him, some rooted in predictable prejudice, some in embarassing good intentions, some universal to students everywhere. The film does have touches of quirk that justify the comparisons here to Wes Andersen, but it can also be read as a parable for any country where a minority must live - even sometimes chooses to live - within a dominant and even oppresive majority. It has a certain amount of humor and more than a little that is serious. It will probably upset some Americans' ideas of what Egypt is like (if they even have any), but it also has touches of "Karate Kid" and general coming of age movies. A bit drawn-out at times but unpredictable and even touching at others.

Nice but..

[amerhalasa · 7/10 · 16 February 2023]

I liked the film, it was super artsy and enjoyable, except for a couple of bits that felt cheesy (even with the context of satire). The musical choices and soundtrack were honestly exhausting and repetitive and had a very generic vibe, like stock music (I was very surprised to find out it was original).

I really liked the art directing and the cinematography, but the editing fell a little short for me, because some scenes felt dull (maybe it was the lack of music or intentional), but they kinda drag and bored me.

The final sound mixing of the film made it very uncomfortable to watch on a big screen. The sound levels were off and the general quality was poor (I understand it's an indie production but still).

Overall it was a nice experience and the storytelling was decent.

A Wonderful Film

[joedoherty-42399 · 10/10 · 12 August 2019]

You will laugh, cry, and feel every emotion in between.

Wonderfully entertaining. The acting was great as well, especially the boy who played Hang.

Amazing, one of the best Egyptian movies I've seen

[anubistheniceguy · 9/10 · 1 August 2020]

This movie deals with religon, peer pressure, toxic masculinity, and the innocence of childhood in a great way, and the ending(no spoilers) is genius.

marvelous, balanced and very realistic scenario. great pictures and great music

[helfarra · 10/10 · 13 February 2014]

This is the first time in my life to watch a movie twice in one week. if you watch this movie, you will laugh, love and enjoy. and you will feel that you want to watch it again. there is a topic. and there is a suffering that is well expressed exactly as it exists in real life not exaggerated nor underestimated. however, the suffering does not prevent you to laugh from your heart and does not hinder you to enjoy the movie. pictures and music are exceptionally great. the voice of Ahmed Helmy also added to the movie. kinda Allosh is gorgeous in her role. Of course you will have a better understanding to the movie if you are Egyptian and if you have ever attended a public school in Egypt. however, you will enjoy it any ways I strongly recommend watching this movie.

Courageous but unfortunately fails in my humble opinion.

[imo96 · 2/10 · 24 March 2014]

Without going through details, Salama's latest film is ambitiously brave and honest and exhibits how two classes in the same country could constantly differ. Rather than showing how artistic Salama is, he simply contrives it in a pretty sarcastic way. The film's clichés can be noticed if we pay attention to details, the film's progression is deeply fast rather than slow. Salama also fails to exhibiting how innocent the main character is. He delivers a film featuring a huge amount of jokes with some mediocre melodramatic scenes that are forgivable. The script is unfortunately thoughtless like his previous film "Asmaa".Yes, it may plunge the viewer into our Egyptian society, however the flaws are obvious. So in a conclusion I would suggest Salama to focus deeply into developing the characters with constructing a complex script rather than being sarcastic with uninteresting jokes.

1.5/5

Excuse My French (2014)

[mes-si-4 · 10/10 · 12 February 2014]

A Christian kid suddenly is forced to go to a public school after his father dies his life changed upside down and because of a misunderstanding everyone thinks that he's a Muslim. This movie show the difference between private and public schools in Egypt , Also show how Most of Student of our now day became like and the Future of the country which is in great danger . (Lamo'akhza) or (Excuse My French) Lunched in theaters on 22 of January 2014 . Written and directed by : Amr Salama Produced by Film Clinic ) and Mohammed hifzi & mamdouh saba'a ) The producers ) and Hani Osama & Hadi Alpajuri ) The support of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture Internal distribution : El Magmo'a El motaheda (united group ) Distribution all over the world : El masah production General observation : hani osama

Starring: Ahmad Dash Kenda Alloush Hany Adel Semitic Osaadb Fouad daily Mohamed Adel Rami Gheit

Guest of Honour commented voice : Ahmad Helmi

The film is due to his idea of ​​how to live with others different from you in the level of culture and thought

[rymelkhaiaat · 11 February 2014]

He created Amr Salama, in the idea of ​​the film as he appeared creativity in output in some of the scenes, such as the melting snow of the tortoise and the burial of the tortoise and the presence of the closet at school torture for kids excelling and it is due to the imagination of the child and believed the existence of this room and the first day of school to him, holding a sandwich and students attacking them as if they were vampires and choose Child Ahmed Dash a good idea Amr use children safety heroes to film a good idea because kids interact naturally and as he thought over-controlling interest in education and government neglect of the mentality of the child and the attention to the religious wrong way

So bad

[iyadeizddin · 4/10 · 16 January 2019]

Because I'm not an Egyptian man I recognize that no one cares about the religion of the other This film shows that there is hate between Muslims and Christians, It's not right If any christian say that Egypt has hate among it people, he should go to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, or any arab country to know that Egypt is the best Not arab countries but also European countries.