The film tells five different stories, surrounding Ahmed and Elizabeth, and mixes "archival footage of political speeches, soccer matches, film clips and radio transmissions with acted scenes." It is based on the story of how Shawky's parents—his Egyptian father and Austrian mother—met, wrote to each other as international pen pals, and fell in love in the seventies.[3][5]
Critical reception
Variety observed a relative lack of depth in the stories of women as compared to men, finding that it "feels less like a film about the bridging of two distinct worldviews than one about Ahmed reconfiguring his understanding of the only reality he's ever truly known through his bond with Elizabeth."[6]
Cineuropa concluded that The Stories was "a fun movie that would fare better in theatres than on a festival circuit dominated by gloomy arthouse pieces. In a milieu like this, it constitutes a refreshing change."[7]
In Review Online found the film "often compelling and enjosable" but lamented that some of its stories felt unrealized or underdeveloped.[8]
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