Thartharah fawqa al-Nīl (Arabic: ثرثرة فوق النيل) (Adrift on the Nile) is a film based on the novel by Egyptian Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz.
| Thartharah fawqa al-Nīl (Adrift on the Nile) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Hussein Kamal |
| Starring | Emad Hamdy, Ahmed Ramzy, Adel Adham, Mervat Amin, Suhair Ramzi, Neamat Mokhtar |
| Cinematography | Mostapha Emam |
| Edited by | Rashida Abdel Salam |
| Music by | Ali Ismail |
Release date | 1971 |
| Language | Arabic |
Plot
Al-hashish is forbidden while alcohol isn't? Why? Both are bad for the health? Both are intoxicating?
The film addresses the decadence of Egyptian society during the Gamal Abdel Nasser era.
It tells the story of a simple Egyptian worker, Anis (played by Emad Hamdi), who can't tolerate the hypocrisy of the Egyptian government and the illiteracy of the Egyptian public and decides to hide from all the problems in the country by simply taking shisha, a popular smoking habit in Egypt, to escape from reality.
Anis (who used to work as a teacher) meets with an old student, Ragab (actor Ahmed Ramzy), by chance. Ragab invites him to the small boat in the Nile. And Anis discovers soon enough that he isn't the only person who smokes shisha but a bunch of other elite, middle class and low class people are all on the boat. He soon discovers that everyone is smoking to forget the reality and hypocrisy of Egyptian life.
At the end of the movie, Anis decides to stop smoking shisha and so stop taking drugs. But soon he is left alone in the street as a crazy person not because he was actually crazy but because you can't wake up a lot of people who are stoned which is almost everyone in Egypt.
The most noticeable thing about this movie that the effect it had in Nasser era are actually the same problems that is facing Egyptians today in Mubarak time where people are trying to escape through drugs, alcohol, or excessive radical religion where the true problem lies on the corruption and unsuccessful life of many in Egypt of today.
Political background
The film was released during the era of Anwar Al Sadat the former President of Egypt, winner of Nobel Peace Prize, and was taken quickly from the market because the film was seen as a criticism of the Gamal Abdel Nasser socialism period, and the oppression of artistic films during Nasser's time when it was forbidden to make any film unless the rich were clearly portrayed critically while the poor had to be shown sympathetically. Anwar al-Sadat didn't want to upset the Egyptian people, some of whom still loved and respected Nasser.
Even though the film might seem to be about drug problems it's actually a politically controversial movie. The film was produced in 1971, and was unsuccessful financially due to excessive banning that happened not only in the Middle East but also in the west (mainly Europe). It only gained acclaim 35 years later. And even though the world is now more open it's still forbidden in many countries especially oppressed Arab countries.
It was very carefully made by writer Naguib Mahfouz and director Hussein Kamal. It's a heartfelt film where everyone is affected by the hypocrisy of Nasser's regime.
The film is now distributed by Founoon and is subtitled in French and English.