El Medina (1999)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Yousry Nasrallah

Writers:

Nasser Abdel-Rahmane (writer)
Claire Denis (writer)

Release Date:

5 July 2000 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A young Egyptian with acting ambitions leaves his country for France with dreams of becoming a movie star, much to the disgust of his father, who wants him to move to Saudi Arabia and get rich. |

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Accountant | Cairo Egypt | Paris France

Awards:

6 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Bassem Samra	...	Ali
Ahmed Fouad Selim	...	The father
Abla Kamel	...	Bannoura, the mother
Roschdy Zem	...	Roschdy
Inês de Medeiros	...	Agnès
Amr Saad	...	Oussama
Basma Ahmad	...	Nadia
Sarry El-Naggar	...	Fox
Messaoud Hattau	...	Firas
Seif El Dine	...	Mounir (as Seif Abdel-Rahmane)
Atteya Ouess	...	Uncle Chalabi
Zaki Abdel Wahab	...	The film director
Youssra	...	Herself: Cameo Appearance
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ahmed Azmi

Also Known As:

La ville (France)
The City (Australia) (literal English title)

Runtime:

France:108 min | Switzerland:90 min (Locarno Film Festival)

Country:

Egypt | France

Language:

Arabic | French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud)

Filming Locations:

Cairo, Egypt

Company:

Ognon Pictures

Trivia:

Many of the scenes of the film were improvised during the workshops held in preparation. Most notable is the scene where Ali (B. Samra) and his friends were drinking on the Nile. Samra saw this in real life and thought it fit well with the film.

Quotes:

[Ali is on the roof memorizing his role in a play while being surrounded by ducks and hens, he then picks up a white duck which he named De Niro]
Ali: Mother, don't slaughter de Niro.
Bannoura, the mother: Who?
Ali: De Niro!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Humbert Balsan, producteur rebelle (2006) (TV)

Exceptional Viewing

Shown in Australia as "The City", this exceptional film is an excellently written story.

The main character "Ali" (Bassem Samra),is a young accountancy graduate with a passion for acting. He leaves Egypt for France in the hope he might find an acting career and a better life. But his dreams infuriate his father who wants him to move to Saudi Arabia and become rich. In France Ali meets Roschdy, who helps him find work, accommodation and gets him a fake ID. But his life becomes a constant battle in more ways than one as he struggles to hide his real identity.

Though this was apparently filmed on 35mm film, it does come across at different times as though it was filmed on someone's home video and so you do get the feeling you are watching an amateur production. However there is some excellent acting from Samra who captures the essence of the role and his supporting cast offer strong back-up.

Well worth the time to watch, I share the loneliness of "Ali" in his time in France as a foreigner in a unwelcoming country.

A well rounded story where our hero finds his true self in end. Excellent viewing.