On the last day of my week-long vacation, which I spent at home, I decided to indulge myself by going to the cinema. I chose to see a film recommended by several of my friends Assif alal-Izaag (Sorry for the disturbance). Since it starred the comedian Ahmed Helmy I expected it would be a light comic production.
The theatre was full, and the people in the audience were talking so much that it gave the impression of being a seminar rather than a film show. I overheard one person say, “I’ve seen it before but wish to see it again.” This drew my attention to a group of youth, and to my surprise, listening to their conversation, I discovered they had all already seen the film, some of them even twice.
Down-to-earth
The young viewers saw in the film an advocacy of the principles of standing up to challenges, being positive, persevering, and seeking something better. In a realistic, down-to-earth manner, the film illustrated the everyday struggles young people face, their being so engrossed in trying to earn a living that they often fail to seek out a rewarding personal life.
When the film was over I set out to seek the audience’s opinion as they left the theatre. According to Iman Magdi, 23, the film was a journey with one’s inner self that leads one to search out one’s flaws and try to improve them. Ayman Saïd, 25, thought that appealing to the president for solutions was not mere comedy since, after the bread crisis, many Egyptians see that the only the way to solve crises is through presidential intervention.
On the other hand engineering student Islam al-Mohamadi was glad that that the film tackled the psychological problems of young people. “People think that we only suffer from unemployment, high prices and love stories, and overlook our real crises,” he commented
A matter of acceptance
Radwa al-Sayed, a law student, said she had learnt that no matter how close and deeply involved two persons are they eventually have to accept separation, as when Hassan finally understood that his father was dead and it was necessary to get on with his life. Maged Mounir, a veterinary surgeon, went to see the film in order to have a good laugh, but after seeing it he began to be afraid of ending up like Hassan.
Once back home and connected to the internet I found a Facebook invitation to join the group “Hassan in Sorry for the disturbance is us”.