Cut and Paste

Two people who are barely friends decide to get married in this satiric comedy drama from Egyptian writer and director Hala Khalil. Gamila (Hanan Turk) is a woman in her early thirties who is eager to leave Egypt and expatriate to New Zealand. Gamila makes a living buying used goods and selling them for whatever the market will bear, and one day her wheeling and dealing causes her to cross paths with Youssef (Sherif Mounir), a fix-it man looking for more profitable work. Gamila has discovered it's hard for a single woman over thirty to get a visa to New Zealand, while Youssef wants to strike out on his own now that his brother's marriage has left him the last sibling in the family still living with his folks, so the two agree to a marriage of convenience -- they'll wed, move to New Zealand, and split up once they're doing well enough to get along on their own. Gamila's mother (Sawsan Badr) is thrilled to see her daughter getting hitched regardless of the circumstances, but her support just makes matters more difficult for the new couple, and their best friends (Fathi Abdel Wahab and Marwa Mahran) unwittingly remind them both what they're leaving behind and why they want to start new lives so badly. Qas Wi Lazk (aka Cut and Paste) was screened in competition at the 2006 Cairo Film Festival.~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide