As far as Egyptian films are concerned, the big news is The Yacoubian Building, directed by Marwan Hamed, and simply one of the best Egyptian films in years. If you haven’t added this to your collection yet, it is a must. Another fine new film is Bahithat an al-Hurriyah (Looking for freedom) by Inas al-Daghidi. It was criticized in Egypt for its depiction of immigration as the only viable option for an Arab woman looking for a fulfilling life. But this only adds to its importance. The film is a bit overlong though, as many Egyptian films are.
Certainly these two films are far above the usual frothy romantic comedies that the Egyptian film industry has been turning out. It is as if everyone involved had watched too many episodes of “Friends.” Here are some musts to avoid. Acquire them only if you’d like to document the decay of the Egyptian cinema:
Ouija
Dam al-Ghazal (Deer’s blood)
Inti Umri (My soul mate)
Halat Hubb (State of love)
Ashab wa-la Biznis (Friendship or business)
Ahlam Umrina (Dreams of our lives)
Even when they try to tackle a serious subject as in Laylat Suqut Baghdad (The fall of Baghdad), it is turned into a frothy nothing. The political events are used simply as a backdrop for a shallow love story. Still, two films that are the best of the lot are Harim Karim starring the pop star Mustafa Qamar, and Abu Ali with Mona Zaki.
I have found recently re-issues of three films from the classic realism period of Egyptian cinema in the 1980s and 1990s. They all have English subtitles and would be an excellent addition to any collection. All star such greats as Adel Imam, Yusra, Nur al-Sharif, and Lablabah, and are directed by some of Egypt’s finest:
Hata la Yutira al-Dukhan (That the smoke may not blow away) (1984) directed by Ahmed Yahya
Laylah sakhinah (A hot night) (1994) directed by Atif al-Tayyib
Tuyur al-Zalam (Birds of darkness) (1995) directed by Sharif Arafah
David Giovacchini
Stanford University