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

أفلام مصر العالمية (يوسف شاهين وشركاه)

Algerian Television

Alexandria… Why? Trailers

No Trailers found.

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

When a free-spirited sailor is found murdered, his twin brother, a famous novelist, is the prime suspect. Investigators uncover a possible liaison between the dead sailor and the writer's wife, and also learn that Sayed's successful fictions owed much to the inspiration of his brother Mahmoud's adventurous life. Just as the evidence against the writer seems overwhelming, Mahmoud turns up alive. But why are the twins never seen together...?

6.5

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

Salama Is Fine

Nov 29, 1937

A courier is sent to deposit a cash amount to the bank but he arrives late. He goes to a hotel to spend the night and keeps the money in the hotel safe, but he gets confused with the Prince of Kandahar and who admires him and insists on keeping this confusion to reveal his enemies.

7.5

Cairo 30

Oct 31, 1966

Mahgoub is a villager who moves to Cairo in search of a better life. When he enlists friend Salem's help to find him a job, Salem not only gets him a job at the ministry where he works but he finds him a bride as well. But the bride is the mistress of Qasem Bek, who will be visiting her once a week.

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.

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.

5.8

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.

6.6

A Man in Our House

Apr 17, 1961

Rebel Ibrahim Hamdy assassinates a pro-colonial Prime Minister but is arrested and hides with a fellow university student, who initially refuses but eventually accepts him. Abdul Hamid Khatib meets Samia and her cousin, and Ibrahim uses the situation to hasten Samia’s marriage, which she rejects. Nawal, the youngest daughter, becomes the liaison between Ibrahim and his colleagues, helping him escape. Abdul Hamid tries to inform the political police of Ibrahim’s location, but Samia stops him. The head of the political police suspects them and punishes them to find Ibrahim. Ibrahim refuses to leave the country, returning to fight colonialism and participating in an operation.

6.2

The Fools Alley

Jan 2, 1955

Khadiga lives in a poor neighborhood with her parents. She tries to save up money so she could marry her sweetheart Taha. Taha buys a lottery ticket in hope of winning a lot of money, but it ends up in Khadiga's religious father's hands who throws it away. The ticket gets picked up by the town's fool, who gets lucky and wins, driving the town into chaos.

6.1

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.

6.6

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

Your Day Will Come

Nov 19, 1951

With her husband terminally ill, a wife becomes the target of her husband's friend who wants her money so bad that he kills his friend and proposes to his newly-widowed wife.

0.0

Zeinab

May 1, 1952

An adaptation of Mohamed Hussein Heikal novel. At the beginning of the 20th century, Zainab, a peasant girl, falls in love with Ibrahim al-Khouli, who works on the Pasha's estate. Her father stands in the way of this love and insists that she marry Hassan, a wealthy young man. Ibrahim is called up for military service and leaves the village, leaving Zainab saddened and suffering from tuberculosis, which Hassan's family refuses to treat. Ibrahim returns from military service, is pained by her condition, and tries to help her.

7.3

Saladin the Victorious

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.

7.3

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.

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.

0.0

Zeinab

Apr 9, 1930

Zeinab, a simple worker in a farm falls in love with her supervisor but she is forced by her family to marry a rich man

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...