ALEXANDRIA: AGAIN AND FOREVER
Egypt, 1989, 100 minutes, Colour.
Youssef Chahine, Amir Abdulgalil, Youssra.
Directed by Youssef Chahine.
This is a film for those interested in Egyptian cinema, especially the acting and directing career of its prominent filmmaker of the 20th century, Youssef Chahine. His personal story, part fictionalised, is told in his three films, Alexandria – Why? 1979, then this film in 1989, and a third film, Alexandria New York, 2004.
conjuring
While his films made an impact in Egypt and were well regarded in art film circles around the world, for most audiences, they will be rather obscure.
The setting for this film is 1979, the presence of the director and his star at the Berlin film Festival, winning of awards – and later disappointment at not winning further awards. The director is devoted to his star who can be very offhand at times. There are scenes where the director is working with the star in the soliloquy from Hamlet, demanding many retakes.
The setting is also a filmmakers’ strike in Egypt, a lot of discussions, a lot of plans for films, a lot of imagination, going back, especially to Roman times and re-enactments of various sequences (some of them presented farcically). The director involves his friend and partner in some of the scenarios and, especially, an actress, rather wilful, called Nadia.
For most audiences, especially as the decades pass, this film can be seen as a cineaste’s specialty.
