Dir/Wri: Noha Adel | Cast: Main cast: Reem Safwat, Rehab Anan, Carol Ackad, Kawthar Younis | Egypt/France. 2024. 96mins
Conflict is never far away in this female centric film inspired by a poem from Egyptian Salah Jahin that begins ’Spring came on laughing but finds me in sorrow’.
A first feature for Egypt’s Noha Adel, screening at this year’s Cairo International Film Festival, shows how an upbeat anodyne conversation can suddenly take a turn into darker more confrontational territory when four women get together to discuss their lives, loves and dreams in Cairo. Tonally the drama feels rather one note with emotions running high and often out of control, each person raising their voice but not really listening to the another.
The film is made up of four spring-set tales and a wrapping finale. It opens with Salwa (Sally Abdou) and her daughter Reem (Reem Safwat) meeting their elderly neighbour Mukhtar (Mukhtar Younis) and his son Shady (Shady Hakim) for afternoon tea. A polite cultural exchange of views about theatre, cinema and literature suddenly turns tense when someone says the wrong thing, and the dynamic switches from convivial tete-a-tete to pistols at dawn. .
The next segment takes place in May at a birthday lunch for Zazou (Rehab Anan). The entente cordiale once again turns sour in a celebration that should have been joyful. These women seem intent on jumping down each other’s throats, and when a simple misunderstanding causes offence, longterm friends turn into sworn enemies.
The previous month, in April, the scene is set at a beauty salon where one of the staff, Abeer (Reem Al Aqqad) is suddenly accused of theft, unearthing a litany of petty grievances as souls are bared in no uncertain terms, and events turn histrionic. A March wedding is then disrupted when Kawthar (Kawthar Younis), an uninvited guest, makes an unwelcome appearance much to the consternation of the bride Lili (Carol Ackad).
Sometimes feeling like four short films welded together, rather than a cohesive whole feature, Spring Comes on Laughing feels repetitive with the same grievances being aired and the same hysterical soul-searching. The women want to project an image of success and satisfaction but this is only skin deep. Scratch the surface and they are actually dissatisfied, angry and negative, especially about the men in their lives. This chaotic vibe is accentuated by Sara Yahia’s mobile camera that ducks and dives in an attempt to keep up with the mayhem.
So a brave attempt at allowing women to air their views but a space for calm contemplation and measured debate, rather than continuous hysteria, would be have been most welcome. MeredithTaylor
CAIRO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024