Midaq Alley (1994)
Director: Jorge Fons
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Transposing a novel of Egyptian street life by the Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfouz to contemporary Mexico, director Fons splits the story into four episodes each told from a separate point of view: from the macho bar owner who seemingly turns gay in an afternoon, to the beautiful Alma (Hayek, star of Robert Rodriguez's Desperado), whose impatience for love leads her quickly to the local brothel. Although everything teeters on the edge of soap opera, and the intertwining of the stories reveals few surprises, the film scores with its strong pacing and gutsy humour.Author: DT
Cast & crew
Director: Jorge Fons
Producer: Alfredo Ripstein
Cast: Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Maria Rojo, Salma Hayek, Bruno Bichir, Delia Casanova, Damiel Giménez Cacho full cast
Duration: 140 mins
Features
Gray's anatomy
James Gray wants to push buttons—again.
The next big thing?
Gigantic Releasing tries to rethink indie distribution…without movie theaters.
Red Diva: Lyubov Orlova, First Lady of Soviet Cinema
So you think you can dance, comrade?
Puppet master
Coraline director Henry Selick takes stop-motion animation into 3-D.
Socratic method
Laurent Cantet's approach on the set matches the message of his film.
Wander woman
Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy puts a Bush-era spin on the road movie.
Oscars
Read our interviews with the nominees, our reviews of the nominated films and more.

What do you think?
Post your review now