Cinema
The Tough
الفتوة
Salah Abu Seif · 1957
Synopsis
Haridi, a peasant from Upper Egypt, arrives in Cairo with nothing but his strength and looks for work at the fruit and vegetable market. He enters the service of Abu Zeid, the merchant who rules there, and learns from him about bribes and rigged auctions. Hosniya, a seasoned widow who stands up to the men of the market, guides him and becomes his partner. According to Mada Masr, Haridi means to bring down from within the man he serves, but the market transforms him as he rises in it.
Context
The film dates from 1957. Naguib Mahfouz, Salah Abu Seif, Mahmoud Sobhi and al-Sayed Bedeir wrote the screenplay, and Wahid Sirri signed the cinematography. Farid Shawqi plays Haridi, Tahia Carioca plays Hosniya and Zaki Rostom plays Abu Zeid. It was shown at the Berlin festival the same year. Mada Masr recalls its success with audiences and the influence it had on the neorealist filmmakers of the eighties, and the critic Ahmad al-Hadari included it among the hundred major Egyptian films.
Who it is for
A black-and-white feature film of two hours, in Egyptian Arabic, set in the wholesale trade of a capital city.
Prizes and reception
Presented in Berlin in 1957 and included among the classics of the Cairo festival, a popular success according to Mada Masr.
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