Bob and Carol and Ali and Moushira

The new Egyptian movie Sahar al-Layali has turned Cairo into a city full of Joel Siegels—most giving breathless raves to this four-couple relationship picture that deals with adultery, sexual dysfunction and other controversial topics. At the Beirut Daily Star, Chuck Freund considers how the film's frankness strikes a chord with Egyptians, and why audiences' eager reception of the movie shunts the country's critical and moral authority figures to the side. (For a synopsis and some rave reviews, try here and here.)

The Daily Star has become the Middle East redoubt for Reason writers. Chuck appears in its pages frequently, Michael Young is a regular columnist and was recently named opinion page editor, and I appear there whenever my schedule as Reason's sous-chef allows. The paper is always worth checking out, for local Middle East news and stories that get little or no attention here.