THE CRIME

Egypt, 2022, 126 minutes, Colour.

Ahmed Ezz, Menna Shalabi, Maged El-Kidwani, Mohamed Al Sharbuby.

Directed by Sharof Arafah.

The Crime is an ambitious drama from Egypt at the beginning of the 2020s.

The contemporary scene is a mental institution where an elderly man, Adel, is tormented by his past, nightmares and memories, wanting to see his son who eventually visits him and rejects his offers.

At the core of the film is a range of nightmares, extensive flashbacks to Adel’s early career, the 1970s, the world of crime, the world of drug dealing, of violence. Adel’s marriage to Nada, who enjoys the swirl of this kind of life and is unfaithful to her husband. She is killed – and her family blame her husband. There is also the theme of the neglect and treatment of the young son.

In the flashbacks, there is a police investigator pursuing Adel. And he has been doing this over the decades, finally appearing at the mental institution.

The finale of the film is a real/surreal shootout, the Inspector, Adel, police pursuing, shots fired everywhere.

A film for Egyptian audiences and a look at a criminal past. A different kind of crime drama for a world audience.

1. The title? An ambitious crime story, memories, retribution?
2. The Egyptian settings, the mental institution, outside the institution, the real world? Flashbacks, the 1970s, the drug world, the crime world, the police, marriage and family? The musical score?
3. The introduction to Adel, age, in the institution, care, the caregivers? Doctors? His mental condition? His dreams and nightmares? Wanting to see his son
4. The visit of the son, memories of the past, his treatment of his son, declaration that everything he did was for his son, his son’s rejection?
5. The dreams, the flashbacks – the core of the film, Adel’s memories, his marriage to Nada, their son, her behaviour, infidelity, the neglect of their son? The criminal world, the world of drugs in dealing?
6. Nadi, her personality, the marriage, mother, the social life, the criminal world, her death? Her family blaming Adel?
7. The police, the Inspector, investigations, the continued pursuit, wanting the truth?
8. The recreation of the drug period, criminals, the criminal world, wealth, success, retribution?
9. The buildup to the finale, Adel and his conscience, his son, the memories of the past, the confrontation with the police?
10. The melodrama of the final confrontation, the police, the pursuits, the shootings?
11. A different slant on worlds of crime for world audiences?