''Al Halfout'' ( arz, الهلفوت) is a 1985 film and satire written by Wahid Hamids and directed by

Samir Seif Samir (variantly spelled Sameer) is a male name found commonly in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. In Arabic, Samir () means holy, jovial, loyal or charming. In Albanian, it translates literally as “so good” but the connotation is clo ...

and Mustafa Gamaleddin. The cast includes

Adel Emam Adel Emam ( ar, عادل إمام; born 17 May 1940 is an Egyptian film, television, and stage actor. He is primarily a comedian, but he has starred in more serious works and, combined comedy with romance especially in his earlier films, which i ...

Ilham Chahine Elham Shahin ( ar, إلهام شاهين, also spelled Ilham Shaheen, Ilham Shahin, Ilham Chahine, and Elham Shaheen) is an Egyptian actress. She has appeared in many Egyptian films and television series and has won both Egyptian and internati ...

, Saeed Saleh and Salah Kabil. Filming of ''Al Halfout'' occurred mainly in Egypt. The film takes a satirical look at Egypt's government and its attitude to the poor.
A clip of the film. Accessed 7 July 2012.

Concept

The movie examines life in the suburbs of Egypt. It focuses on a small village affected by social inequality and a corrupt regime. The role of government is not apparent whereas landlords and rich businessmen appear as unrestrained criminals. To survive, the villagers sell unusual services such as

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

. One lady opens a gentlemen's club. The village is timeless with the only dating feature being the train line.

Protagonists

Arafa

Adel Emam plays Arafa, a 34-year-old grocery delivery man who likes to 'hang out' at the market or the railway station. He is lean, clumsy and odd; disorganised with a slow way of speaking. He is poor with no education or prospects. He dreams of marriage but events in the village make this more and more unlikely.

Dosoki

Dosoki, played by Saeed Saleh, works in a cafe at the railway station. He is an Arafa's best friend and does his best to help and consol him. For example, he will give Arafa money or help him to find a different job.

Warda

Warda is a widow played by Ilham Chahine. Arafa maries her.

Plot

Arafa's progress is influenced by traditional cultural practices such as sorcery and by degeneration of society into activities such as prostitution. Despite these things, Arafa eventually marries the widow Warda. A few days later, Arafa finds himself jobless when a younger man takes his place at the market. A local hitman kills a famous businessman. Arafa has the opportunity to assume the identity of the hitman (neither he nor the hitman have ever been seen by the boss' intermediary). Arafa is hired to make a hit. However, when Dosoki is killed by mafia in a gun fight, Arafa tries to escape. Warda discovers this and follows Arafa only to be killed by the mafia herself. Arafa kills all the mafia.

Cast

as Arafa Mashawir *

as Warda *

Saeed Saleh Saeed Saleh also credited as ''Sa'eed Saleh Ibrahim''; ( ar, سعيد صالح إبراهيم) (July 31, 1940 – August 1, 2014) was an Egyptian comedian actor. Biography Saleh earned his bachelor of arts degree from Cairo University in 196 ...

as Dosoki * Salah Kabil as Asran

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1529230, Al Halfout 1984 drama films 1984 films 1980s Arabic-language films Egyptian drama films