Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

AboveDeepBuggy Some things I liked some I did not.

Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Flyerplesys Perfectly adorable

Alex Deleon Viewed at Los Angeles Preview, Dec. 2013: "The Square" (Al Meidan). a new documentary thriller straight from the barricades in Cairo, has received the Best Documentary of the year award and has turned out to be one of the hottest film events of the tail end of calendar year 2013. PHOTO: Ahmad Hassan, young protester rides atop a triumphant crowd in Tehrir Square"The Square" (Tehrir Square in Cairo, scene of all the major Egyptian protest demonstrations of the past two years) a two hour long documentary on the Nightmarish 'Arab Spring' in Egypt, is an astounding personal summary of the events in Egypt from the fall of the Mubarak dictatorship in early 2011 to the rise and fall of the Moslem Brotherhood under "legally elected" Islamist president Morsi just a few months ago.Intrepid female director, Jehane Noujaim, an American Egyptian filmmaker went to Cairo in January 2011 to witness the historical events taking place in her home town with no such ambitious film project yet in mind ..The reality on the ground in front of her eyes in the very neighborhood where she grew up — with cataclysmic political changes already underway — prompted her to set up a team to record these unfolding events in proper professional style. She and her team stayed with the ongoing insurrection for two years, through thick and thin, focusing on the personalities of three central impromptu revolutionaries, while placing themselves directly in the line of fire.What emerges is a you-are-there documentary that is more cinema vérité than classical documentary — like news flashes from the front lines with a Hollywood thriller plot line to boot.Basically she followed three regular Tehrir protesters around, both on the street during life- threatening situations, and off the street in private interviews reflecting on the events in progress. One, Ahmed Hassan simply speaks straight from the shoulder with no pretensions whatsoever. Ahmed is an average guy who is convinced that the time for the common people to regain their dignity after decades of humiliation and oppression under Mubarak has finally come. He just happens to have the disarming charm and charisma of a Leonardo Di Caprio.Khalid Abdallah is a professional British actor of Egyptian background with a Cambridge degree. In 2006 he played the leader of the Arab hijackers in Paul Greengrass's 9/11 drama "Flight 93″. In Jehane's Square he plays himself — an ordinary Egyptian with a conscience crying out for democracy. Khalid takes a more intellectual view than the others but is every bit as committed and willing to put his body on the line. His father back in England is also a longtime advocate of democracy for Egypt. We see Khalid talking to his father via SKYPE in UK to keep him abreast of happenings on the front line in the Square.The battle lines swing back and forth. After Mubarak is toppled an interim military junta takes over. Finally the Junta agrees to hold "free elections"' however, as Hassan points out with surprising political savvy, the democratic minded opposition in The Square has no cohesive structure, so the choice becomes one between the fundamentalist minded Moslem Brotherhood, or a continuation of Mubarak style Military rule — in other words not much of a choice at all for the democracy minded activists who represent the bulk of the Egyptian populace.The Botherhood — the "Akhwan" — win by a slim majority and Morsi takes over — as a "legally elected" president. At first even Washington supports him, but it soon becomes clear that Morsi wants to install an Islamic Dictatorship. Watching Morsi attempting to assume dictatoriaĺ powers on television Ahmed Hassan remarks wryly, "He's digging his own grave" — and then leads another charge into The Square. This time Hassan is hit by live ammo and hospitalized, but he recovers quickly and the Moslem Brotherhood regime is also toppled. But what is the new alternative?The third central figure is Magdy, a personal friend of secular Ahmed but a committed Moslem Brotherhood believer. As events progress we witness his final disappointment and disillusion with the brotherhood in spite of his deep religious feelings. His own son is now an active demonstrator against Brotherhood oppression. At the end of the film, completed just two months ago, the military is back in the drivers seat and the nation is in limbo. In a final sequence the three main figures agree that the opposition is too unstructured and that what is needed is a new constitution — and a new consciousness — but this will take time to work out.As the year 2014 opens the situation in Egypt is still up in the air with the military cracking down severely, much as was the case under Mubarak. The question now is what is worse?– the military or the Islamists — and will democracy in some form still have a chance?On very limited release in November 2013 this amazing film was seen by almost nobody because NETFLIX who own the rights, allotted Zero publicity budget. However, The power of Jehane Noujaim's film is such that, if it gets an Oscar in March on top of the Best Documentary distinction already earned it may become an international cause celèbre and may then reach enough people to make a real difference on the ground — not only in Egypt but elsewhere as well. In any case this is a film absolutely not to miss simply as a cinematic adventure that is sure to become a landmark if and when the final chapter of the Arab Spring is ever written.

bjohnson01328 The Square was hard to watch. I could never imagine living somewhere, where the people in power are able to leave everyone poor and only provide for themselves. I could never imagine being uneducated for being poor. I could never imagine my country punishing me for speaking my mind and standing my ground. I could never imagine my Dictator having the military kill innocent people.This is a good example of when America should step in and do something to fix what they've allowed other countries to do.I was amused when they had an election to make others think they were changing to a democracy country. I would recommend this documentary to any one that is a revolutionary.

l_rawjalaurence THE SQUARE is a raw, uncompromising documentary charting the Egyptian revolution that began with the overthrowing of Pressident Mubarak, and continues to this day. President Morsi was elected and overthrown; and the people are perpetually at war with one another. The film tells the stories that have often been neglected with the reporting of the conflict in the western media. Using five different people of different ages and different backgrounds as their subjects, director Jehane Noujaim shows the spontaneity of the so-called "Arab Spring" - it began as a popular movement among young people and continues in similar vein to this day. They are not only frustrated with the established forces of government, as well as the army, but they are searching for a more democratic form of living. Despite repeated - and often violent - attempts to suppress them, their will to resist remains unshakable. The film includes several violent sequences attesting to the brutality of the army's treatment of the revolutionaries. What gives THE SQUARE its true originality, however, is its refusal to be constrained within western-inscribed intellectual boundaries. Revolutions are supposed to be decisive, with one government supplanted by another; this film shows that the revolution in Egypt is a long one, and is still by no means concluded. The actor Khalid Abdalla, one of the main protesters, makes this point; after two years, certain reforms have been achieved, but the protests need to continue long-term. Revolutions are also supposed to be about ideology - the Russian Revolution, for instance, helped usher in communist rule. In Egypt, as with other countries in the region, the protesters don't necessarily have a coherent ideology (even though their concerns are obviously ideological); they are just looking for a form of government in which their voices can be heard. And perhaps most importantly, the subject-matter of THE SQUARE is not just about Egypt, but can also apply to other countries who have experienced similar protests - Tunisia, Syria and Turkey. If filmgoers want to learn more about the consequences of the so-called "Arab Spring" (a term which has been embraced by the west, but seems to me misleading), they should watch this film. Essential viewing.

muhammad-saied-fb I was one of the people that went down the street to take down Mubarak's regime, I was not in Tahrir square of course because I am from Alexandria not Cairo, but I was there ... when I watched the movie, it gave me the chills, same ones that I had when I was running away from a police vehicle or a gang of soldiers with tear gas launchers. The movie is so realistic as it was truly shot on the ground of the events, by the people who shared in defending what they believe in. I was so proud to see people like me, thinking like me, but were so brighter by bringing out their gear and risking their lives to document such marvelous events in such a fantastic way. If you shared in this on going revolution, it will bring tears to your eyes just to be reminded of what happened, and if you do not know about what happened in the past two years, do not worry .. this movie will get you there in almost two hours. WISH IT GETS THE Oscar!!