The movie is about intersecting lives in this city, much like Crash or Amores Perros, in the end it all comes together somehow.I live in Dubai and quite enjoy it here... it is a place unlike no other on Earth. Funny thing is, there are certain "givens" or accepted truths and stereotypes about Dubai that this movie points out quite well. My favorite was the money-hungry Russian girl, sleeping around with anyone just to live a comfortable lifestyle, before coming to Dubai I truly believed this was an exaggeration from people but I've yet to meet one Russian girl that isn't this way and it makes the movie that much more accurate.There are three main stories told: Indian taxi driver who wants a better life but just can't seem to get to that next step. (most taxi drivers in Dubai are either Indian or Pakistani) Eastern-European flight attendant - Pretty much most non-Russian girls I've met in Dubai are flight attendants for Emirates Airlines, so its no surprise this character is one as well. Again quite accurate portrayal of life in Dubai. Her best friend is an easy Russian chick looking to meet rich Arabs to continue her posh lifestyle.Two young Emiratis (Arab) who come from money and live their wealthy lifestyle of partying and spending their parents cash.You can imagine all very different lifestyles but this is the beauty of Dubai, it really does contain these characters. Heck, I felt like I was watching people I knew on screen. The movie is quite predictable in many ways but definitely still worth a watch, especially if you live or have been to Dubai.

An excellent movie overall. There was a fluent use of English, Arabic and Urdu in this movie because in Dubai all three languages are used fluently. This movie shows the sharp contract in people and their attitude.I really felt for the Indian Manager who had worked for 15 years only to be put under a young boy just because he was boss's son.This movie did not touch more sensitive items like slave servants or sex slaves but it plays in such a way that you could feel the helplessness in the air.The message in between the lies was that this life in the fast lane means that there is nothing what it seems.

Feature-length films from competent Arab directors are rare. This one is both rare and good. My wife worked hard to persuade me to see the film after having seen it herself the day before. It is at first off-putting watching a film financed by product placement - largely due to my fellow similar goers cackling "ooh, that's Cat Boy and Geordie Bird" and a rather staged scene in a ballet school, but the film quickly reaches its stride.This film leaves every local watcher of all nationalities nodding and saying 'so true'. Like the film, Dubai isn't perfect by any means, but that doesn't mean both aren't great.It is a film about dreamers and their dreams, but set in almost real life. The Bollywood wannabe taxi driver Basu (perhaps the best portrayal in the film), the frustratingly wooden Natalia, playboy and eventual arch-villain Guy Berger: all have different dreams. For me, though, the Emirati characters steal the show. Summing up the brash yet uncertain confidence of this country and showing the true heart of the Emirati population. The final scenes involving Faisal, Khalfan and their families bring a tear to my eye every time. Just don't tell the wife.

Directed, written and produced by Ali F. Mostafa, a UAE based film maker, being the first Emirati full length feature, I was looking forward to seeing how Dubai had been depictedIt revolves around the life of an Emirati called Faisal (played by Saoud Al Kaabi) who's unsure about his identity in society, an Indian taxi driver called Basu (played by Sonu Sood) dreaming to become a big Indian actor, a flight attendant called Natalia Moldovan (played by Alexandra Maria Lara) looking for companionship and an old Filipino cardboard collector (played by Itlanas Jr) and how their lives converge in the end for better or worse.'City of life' is a drama set in the urban environment that is Dubai. How people from different cultural/ethnic backgrounds are trying to find themselves, figure things out and live. It also shows how certain actions and their reactions leads to a domino effect in their lives where some find hope and some find a reason to live.Saoud Al Kaabi played his role well though he was completely over shadowed by Yassin Alsalman who plays his aggressive emotional friend to perfection. Sonu Sood as the taxi driver dreaming big was good in patches as I thought at some points in the film he could have showed more emotions to get the viewers really involved in his plight. Alexandra Maria Lara and Jason Flemyng (playing the playboy Guy Berger) were not very convincing while Natalie Dormer (playing Natalia's roommate Olga) was quite good in comparison. Ahmed Ahmed (playing restaurant owner Nasser) and Javed Jaffery (playing Suresh Khan) didn't have big enough roles to make any impact on the viewer while Habib Ghuloom (playing Faisal's father) was quite poor in his single style of dialog delivery but I suppose his role didn't have anything else to offer either.For a person who's directing his first full length feature, Ali F. Mostafa did a fantastic job. I love the opening bicycle scene and the way he incorporated shots from old Dubai i.e. Satwa with the modern Dubai i.e. SZR road. I also like the way he included the various point of views and lifestyles i.e. covering the local, western and Asian. The story was well written though a little cliché but then that is Dubai in a lot of ways. The camera work in some places was a bit shaky but maybe that's how they wanted it to be.What I didn't like about the movie was that it seemed to be just another thing out of the UAE that was trying to promote 'Brand Dubai'. I know most movies do that when it comes to the locations they use and I'm being a little too critical about it but I just felt it could have been avoided in some areas.It was a nice night out. A movie I recommend to any person who's lived in the UAE or the gulf even if you might not be able to relate to any of the characters cause just watching Dubai on the big screen and trying to figure out the various locations is fun in its own way plus you get a good story to enjoy on the side...