Cairo Time

The title might be a disclaimer, that things here move at a different pace. That it’ll be one of those movies in which “nothing happens,” unless you count two comely people strolling together through a gorgeous metropolis and discreetly falling in love. Reluctantly, too: The woman (Patricia Clarkson) has come to visit her husband, a U.N. official chronically delayed by his work in Gaza; instead she meets the friend and former security officer (Alexander Siddig) that her husband has sent to look after her. What ensues is perhaps the subtlest mutual midlife crisis put on screen in many years, and a highly recommended alternative to Eat Pray Love. Unsuspecting viewers might misconstrue writer-director Ruba Nadda’s casual eloquence as languor, but the grace and gumption of her lead performers is unmistakable.