Type:
Feature Film
Director:
Youssef Chahine
Year:
1978
Time:
133 minutes
Language:
English and Arabic with English subtitles
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Winner! Silver Berlin Bear/Special Jury Prize
- Berlin International Film Festival
"A splendidly fluent picture of a vanished world."
- Roy Armes, Third World Film Making and the West
The first film in Chahine's autobiographical Alexandria trilogy, Alexandria, Why? was a (widely banned) revelation in Arab cinema for its use of first-person narrative and for testing boundaries of cultural identity. In 1942, as Rommel's army nears Alexandria, some cheer the victors, Jews prepare to flee, and a vengeful aristocrat buys British soldiers to seduce and kill them--until he falls in love with one young captive. A young student (Chahine's avatar) adores Shakespeare and Hollywood, dreaming of studying filmmaking in the USA, but as he discovers the lies of European occupation and Americanization, and experiences a sexual awakening, he profoundly reevaluates his identity and allegiances.
Rental Information
This film is available from AFD on 35mm and video for public screenings and television broadcast. For information regarding rental rates and formats, please contact institutions@arabfilm.com for institutional/non-theatrical screenings, or festivals@arabfilm.com for theatrical, festival, television, or other bookings.
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