Clash | Arab Spring foes jostle and jar inside an Egyptian police van

By Jason Best
( What's on TV )
published

Clash Mohamed Diab Egyptian film 2016
(Image credit: © 2016 FILM CLINIC – SAMPEK P)

 

Conflict is on the Inside.

Taking place entirely within the stifling confines of a police van during a riotous day of protest, Egyptian film Clash is not for the claustrophobic. It’s the aftermath of the 2013 army coup against Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi, and in the course of the day various pro-army demonstrators find themselves squashed together in the van with a group of MB members, their hated political foes. With two Associated Press Journalists and the odd unfortunate bystander also crammed inside, the atmosphere quickly becomes dangerously overheated. Along the way, director Mohamed Diab exploits his film’s restricted location with brio. And captures a searing snapshot of a divided nation.

Certificate 15. Runtime 98 mins. Director Mohamed Diab

Clash is available on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Arrow Academy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiSzIOZHSiM

Jason Best
Jason Best

A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.