Boy from Heaven
{{Short description|2022 film by Tarik Saleh}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Boy from Heaven
| image = Boy from Heaven 2022 film poster.png
| caption = Swedish theatrical release poster
| director = Tarik Saleh
| producer = {{plainlist|
- Kristina Åberg
- Fredrik Zander
}}
| writer = Tarik Saleh
| starring = {{plainlist|
- Tawfeek Barhom
- Fares Fares
- Mohammad Bakri
- Makram Khoury
- Mehdi Dehbi
- Moe Ayoub
- Sherwan Haji
- Ahmed Lassaoui
- Jalal Altawil
- Ramzi Choukair
}}
| music = Krister Linder
| cinematography = Pierre Aïm
| editing = Theis Schmidt
| studio = {{plainlist|
- Atmo (Sweden)
- Memento (France)
- Bufo (Finland)
}}
| distributor = {{plainlist|
- TriArt Film (Sweden)
- Memento (France)
}}
| released = {{Film date|2022|5|20|Cannes|2022|10|26|France|2022|11|18|Sweden|df=yes}}
| runtime = 126 minutes
| country = Sweden
France
Finland
| language = Arabic
| gross = $4.9 million{{cite Box Office Mojo|id=15452062|title=Cairo Conspiracy (2022)|access-date=22 October 2023}}
}}
Boy from Heaven ({{Langx|ar|صبي من الجنة|ṣabiyy min al Janna}}), released in most English-speaking countries as Cairo Conspiracy, is a 2022 Arabic-language political thriller film directed by Swedish filmmaker Tarik Saleh. The film is a co-production between Sweden, France and Finland.
It had its world premiere on 20 May 2022 at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. Saleh was awarded Best Screenplay, and the film received the François Chalais Prize at Cannes. It was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards but was not nominated.
Plot
Adam, the son of a fisherman from a village near El Manzala, accepts an offer to study at the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. Shortly after his arrival, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar suddenly dies and a power struggle to replace him ensues. The NSA (security service) strives to install sheikh Beblawi, but he has two competitors: neutral sheikh Negm, who is blind, and a Salafi sheikh Durani.
Adam makes friends with Zizu, who is an informer for Colonel Ibrahim from the NSA. Zizu is soon killed, and Adam tries to help solve his murder by working for Ibrahim. He infiltrates a group of extremists and gathers information about them, but he learns that they had no involvement with the murder. Once the extremists realise his role, they attempt to kill Adam, but Ibrahim stops them and forces their leader to quit his position as Durani's assistant and turn it over to Adam.
Sheikh Negm turns himself in to the NSA and claims that he killed Zizu. The NSA is forced to arrest him despite knowing that he is not guilty. While doing menial tasks for Durani, Adam discovers that he has an illegitimate child, which disqualifies him. Sheikh Beblawi is elected Grand Imam.
Ibrahim's superior, Sobhi, orders him to kill Adam, revealing that NSA murdered Zizu too. Ibrahim is shocked and tries to help Adam to escape, but he is captured. Sobhi attempts to pressure Adam into confessing that he murdered Zizu. Ibrahim too gets arrested, but he manages to persuade General Sakran to arrange a meeting between Adam and Negm: Negm knows about NSA's role in Zizu's murder and plans to reveal it to the media during the trial; Ibrahim thinks that Adam can persuade Negm to reconsider. Adam succeeds and is let go.
Adam returns to his home village wearing al-Azhar's signature turban. He thanks his village imam, but is unable to say what he has learnt at the university. In the final scene of the film he joins his father in the fishing boat.
Cast
{{Cast listing|* Tawfeek Barhom as Adam
- Fares Fares as Ibrahim
- Mohammad Bakri as General Al Sakran
- Makram Khoury as Sheikh Negm
- Mehdi Dehbi as Zizo
- Moe Ayoub as Sobhy
- Sherwan Haji as Soliman
- Abduljabbar Alsuhili as Alasfour
- Ahmed Lassaoui as Raed
- Jalal Altawil as Sheikh Beblawi
- Ramzi Choukair as Sheikh Durani
- Yunus Albayrak as Sharia Teacher
- Mouloud Ayad as Nazim
- Okan Bozkuş as Student
- Youssef Salama Zeki as Biology Teacher
- Ayman Fathy as Soldier
- Amr Mosad as Harun}}File:Suleymaniye DSCF3581.jpg
Production
The film was shot primarily at the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.{{Cite web|last=Pham|first=Annika|date=12 May 2022|title=Boy from Heaven producer Kristina Åberg on working with Tarik Saleh|url=https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/news/stories/boy-from-heaven-producer-kristina-aberg-on-working-with-tarik-saleh|access-date=1 June 2022|website=Nordisk Film & TV Fond}}
Release
The film had its world premiere on 20 May 2022 at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or.
It was released in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland,{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/11/samuel-goldwyn-films-acquires-cairo-conspiracy-boy-from-heaven-sweden-oscar-1235161352/|title=Samuel Goldwyn Films Acquires Swedish Oscar Entry 'Cairo Conspiracy' For North America|last=Tartaglione|first=Nancy|date=2 November 2022|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=9 November 2022}} and Australia as Cairo Conspiracy.{{cite web | title=Cairo Conspiracy | website=Palace Nova | url=https://palacenova.com.au/films/cairo-conspiracy | access-date=7 May 2023}}
Reception
=Critical response=
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 85% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads, "Although it may not fully unlock the promise of its tension-rich setting and premise, Cairo Conspiracy{{'}}s strong performances and sophisticated script offer solidly satisfying compensation".{{cite Rotten Tomatoes|title=Cairo Conspiracy|type=m|id=cairo_conspiracy|access-date=22 October 2023}} According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on 14 critics, the film received "generally favorable" reviews.{{cite Metacritic|id=cairo-conspiracy|type=movie|title=Cairo Conspiracy|access-date=22 October 2023}}
===Accolades===
The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards,{{cite web |url= https://variety.com/2022/film/global/swedens-oscar-entry-cairo-conspiracyfrench-box-office-1235450078/ | title=Sweden's Oscar Entry 'Cairo Conspiracy' Thrives at French Box Office |work=Variety |last=Keslassy |first=Elsa |date=6 December 2022 |access-date=10 January 2023}} and made the December shortlist.{{Cite web |last=Giardina |first=Carolyn |date=21 December 2022 |title=Shortlists for 95th Academy Awards Unveiled |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-shortlists-95th-academy-awards-unveiled-1235285262/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|15452062|Boy from Heaven}}
{{Tarik Saleh}}
{{François Chalais Prize}}
{{Swedish submission for Academy Awards}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boy from Heaven}}
Category:2020s political thriller films
Category:2020s Arabic-language films
Category:Films directed by Tarik Saleh
Category:Swedish political thriller films
Category:French political thriller films
Category:Finnish political thriller films