Alexandria… Why?

Aug 23, 1979

2h 13m

★ 6.3

Overview

Amid the poverty, death, and suffering caused by World War II, 18-year-old Yehia retreats into a private world of fantasy and longing. Obsessed with Hollywood, he dreams of studying filmmaking in America but struggles to pursue his dream, given the constraints of his life in the middle class and the horrors of war.

Genres

Drama

War

Production Companies

MISR International Films

Algerian Television

Alexandria… Why? Trailers

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Cast

Yehia

Mohsen Mohey ElDein

Shukri Murad, Yehia's Father

Mahmoud El Meligy

Yehia's Mother

Mohsena Tawfiq

Mohsen

Abdullah Mahmoud

Ibrahim

Ahmed Zaki

Sarah Sorel

Naglaa Fathy

Adel Bey

Ahmed Mehrez

Thomas "Tommy" Friskin

Gerry Sundquist

Nadia

Laila Hamada

Shaker Bey, Mohsen's Father

Farid Shawqy

Grandmother

Zeinab Sedky

Morsi

Ezzat Al Alaily

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7.2

Sunset and Sunrise

Mar 16, 1970

In the wake of the Cairo Fire, Essam feels guilty for betraying his friend Samir by messing around with his wife Madiha. Essam decides to take revenge on Madiha's father who pressured him to marry her to avoid a scandal.

7.5

Miramar

Oct 13, 1969

Zuhra has nothing to do but to runaway after her family forced her to marry an old rich man. She goes to Alexandria where she works in a motel and there she meets people with different ideologies and thoughts about life.

6.5

The Postman

Apr 15, 1968

Abbas, a resident of Cairo, is appointed by the government to hold the office of supervisor in a post office in a small village in Upper Egypt.

8.0

The Beginning and the End

Oct 31, 1960

Set in the suburbs of Cairo in the late 1930s, the story follows a middle-class Egyptian family grappling with the hardships of life after the death of their father, their sole breadwinner. The mother and her four children—three brothers and their sister, Nefisah—struggle to avoid slipping into poverty. They all go in different directions which aren't exactly good.

3.0

Dananeir

Sep 29, 1940

A concubine to a ruling family is challenged when the family is overthrown.

6.6

Wife Number 13

Mar 5, 1962

Murad Salem is a rich man who is used to getting what he wants whenever he wants it. When he meets a beautiful woman in Alexandria, he wants her as wife number thirteen. He buys himself into the heart of the woman, until a well-meaning, former fiancée of her husband tells her just how many times he has been divorced. The new bride launches into a series of ploys that keep her away from the marriage bed.

8.7

The Thug

Apr 29, 1957

Haridy arrives at the vegetable market in search of a job opportunity, he works for Master Abu Zaid and after a while he separates and marries Hossnyia. Haridy forms an alliance against Abu Zaid, but he soon becomes more powerful and his condition turns to worse.

6.8

Rayya and Sekina

Feb 23, 1952

In Alexandria a terrifying phenomenon of the disappearance of women, spreads terror in the city. Police work to unravel its secrets. Officer Ahmed is preparing a plan to uncover who's behind it and it turns out to be the gang of Raya and Sakina, who were targeting women to steal their jewelry.

6.5

Whom Should We Shoot?

Dec 8, 1975

The film describes the political and economical corruption in 70s’ Egypt, through the relationship between a powerful man and his wife’s ex-fiance.

7.2

The Second Wife

Oct 14, 1967

A story in the Egyptian countryside about an unjust mayor who controls everything in the village with his power.

6.2

The Sinners

Sep 23, 1976

Actress Sanaa Kamel is found murdered on her bed, and an investigation starts, taking into account everyone of the guests she hosted at her apartment the night she was killed: her jealous fiancé, a school instructor, a corrupt market manager, one of Sanaa's friends who works as a contractor, and a stud who was Sanaa's secret lover. As the investigation progresses, all the conclusions about the characters are always under question.

8.8

Between Heaven and Earth

Nov 9, 1959

In the blasting heat of a Friday afternoon in Cairo, a group of people – among them a movie star, a thief, a madman, a cook and a pregnant woman – find themselves trapped in an elevator for 12 hours.

6.3

Empire M

Nov 6, 1972

Well off widow working Mother "Mona" is struggling raising 6 kids at different ages ranging from elementary school to University graduating students. The day she thinks to bring a new husband home proves to be a very difficult task.

6.9

Bit of Fear

Feb 3, 1969

Based on Tharwat Abaza's short story, 'Shey min al Khawf' takes place in a rural Egyptian village. Atris' reign of terror on the villagers is put to the test when a public act of defiance is carried out by Fu'ada, the object of his affection.

0.0

The Rebels

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7.0

Jamila, the Algerian

Dec 9, 1958

Djamila, a young Algerian woman living with her brother Hadi and her uncle Mustafa in the Casbah district of Algiers under the French occupation of Algeria, sees the full extent of injustice, tyranny and cruelty on his compatriots by French soldiers. Jamila's nationalist spirit will be strengthened when French forces invade her university to arrest her classmate Amina who commits suicide by ingesting poison. Shortly after the prominent Algerian guerrilla leader Youssef takes refuge with her, she realizes that her uncle Mustafa is part of this network of anti-colonial rebel fighters. Her uncle linked her to the National Liberation Front (FLN). A series of events illustrate Jamila's participation in resistance operations against the occupier before she was finally captured and tortured. Finally, despite the efforts of her French lawyer, Jamila is sentenced to death...

7.7

The Night of Counting the Years

Jan 27, 1969

Set in 1881, a year before the start of British colonial rule, it is based on the true story of the Abd el-Rasuls, an Upper-Egyptian clan that had been robbing a cache of mummies they have discovered at tomb DB320 near the village of Kurna, and selling the artifacts on the black market. After a conflict within the clan, one of its members made a crucial decision when the Antiquities Service arrived.

7.2

Saladin

Feb 25, 1963

The first Sultan of Egypt and Syria leads the Muslim military campaign against the invading Christians from Europe during the Third Crusade.

7.4

Cairo Station

Jul 31, 1958

Qinawi, a physically challenged peddler who makes his living selling newspapers in the central Cairo train station, is obsessed with Hanuma, an attractive young woman who sells drinks. While she jokes with him about a possible relationship, she is actually in love with Abu Siri, a strong and respected porter at the station who is struggling to unionize his fellow workers to combat their boss' exploitative and abusive treatment.