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El Medina (1999)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
5 July 2000 (France) morePlot:
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. | add synopsisPlot Keywords:
Awards:
6 wins & 1 nomination moreUser Comments:
Exceptional Viewing moreCast
(Credited 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 | |||
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
France:108 min | Switzerland:90 min (Locarno Film Festival)Color:
ColorSound Mix:
StereoFun Stuff
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. moreQuotes:
[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!
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Drama section | IMDb Egypt section | Add this title to MyMovies |


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.