Cairo Conspiracy Review: A Riveting Religious & Political Thriller

Acclaimed filmmaker Tarik Saleh delves into a murderous power struggle between cutthroat religious and political leaders. Cairo Conspiracy, released in Europe as Boy from Heaven, won both the François Chalais Prize, awarded for journalistic value, and Best Screenplay at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Al-Azhar University is the preeminent institution of learning in Sunni Islam; which comprises ninety percent of the world’s Muslims. Its leader, the Grand Imam, is a religious authority akin to the Catholic Church’s Pope. The film follows a devout young student who unwittingly becomes a pawn in deadly machinations. It shows a military dictatorship’s brutal tactics, the oppression of theological indoctrination, and the frightening lengths both will go to control the obsequious masses.

Adam (Tawfeek Barhom) fishes with his stern, widowed father on the Egyptian coast near his small village. He hides an acceptance letter to the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo. The local imam (Hassan El Sayed) congratulates him on such an achievement. Adam is surprised when his father learns of the letter, and decides to let him go. He will not argue against “God’s will.”

Adam nervously arrives to bustling Cairo. He wades through throngs of young male students wearing red Tarboush hats. Adam bunks in a crowded dorm room. His first day of prayers, classes, and recitations of the Quran prove that studies will be difficult.

Al-Azhar Is Stunned

Al-Azhar is stunned by the sudden death of the Grand Imam. The school becomes a global focal point as Muslims await the choice of its new leader. The security service of Egyptian dictator Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, seen throughout in propaganda pics, scrambles at this rare opportunity. Seeds of rebellion are taking root within the population. Choosing an imam under their control would help to pacify such threats. General Al Sakran (Mohammad Bakri) assigns the weary Colonel Ibrahim (Fares Fares) to spearhead the critical operation. Ibrahim already has a mole at Al-Azhar.

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Adam’s surprised to be noticed by Zizo (Mehdi Dehbi), the popular assistant to the revered blind Sheikh Negm (Makram Khoury). He’s widely expected to be chosen by the school’s council as the next Grand Imam. The dictatorship cannot influence Negm and will do anything to stop his ascension. Zizo takes Adam under his wings, but has an ulterior motive. He tells Ibrahim that he wants out. Radical elements at the school, the banned Muslim Brotherhood, suspect him. Zizo has found the perfect patsy to replace him.

Exploring Islamic Culture

Saleh (The Nile Hilton Incident, The Contractor) does a superb job exploring the tenets of Islamic culture and its profound effect on daily life. We see the rigid discipline of learning at Al-Azhar. Adam embraces religious purpose, but is naive and woefully unprepared for the dire circumstances that engulf him. He can’t refuse Ibrahim. The military will kill him. Al-Azhar’s jihadist extremists are just as lethal. Adam has to earn their trust without exposing himself as a spy. He literally has nowhere to run. Every choice is a bad one.

Cairo Conspiracy targets a religious patriarchy that extols virtue yet hypocritically exists in sin. There are no women at Al-Azhar. Females have zero say in religious matters that define their existence, but are lusted after by clerics who preach strict fidelity. These scenes strike at the heart of a serious cultural dilemma. Relegating half the population as subservient breeders stifles intellectual capital. Saleh depicts searing inequality.

The film’s third act is absolutely riveting. The skillfully plotted subterfuge reaches a heart-pounding climax. The heinous inhumanity of repression rears its ugly head. Authoritarian rule crushes dissension. Execution, torture, targeting loved ones, there are no rules to evil subjugation. Saleh fled Egypt to avoid imprisonment, but his art cannot be silenced. Truth sneaks through the smallest cracks.

Cairo Conspiracy has Arabic dialogue with English subtitles. It is produced by Atmo Production, Memento Films, and Oy Bufo Ab. Cairo Conspiracy is Sweden’s Oscar entry for Best International Film. It will be released in the United States on January 1st from Samuel Goldwyn Films.