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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 July 1999 Issue No. 439 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 July 1999 Issue No. 439
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Focus Interview Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Creative overcrowding
By Khairiya El-Bishlawi
Hassan wa Aziza, contrary to expectations, is a film worthy of attention, something I realised when I recognised the absence of the boredom all too often associated with the endless screenings necessitated by being a film critic. Certainly the film capitalised on many of the best available talents: Ragueh Dawoud was responsible for the music, Ahmed Metwalli for editing, Tareq El-Telmesani for photography, while the art director was Salah Marei. And both Youssra and Ashraf Abdel-Baqi, the two title characters, produced more than creditable performances.
Mustafa Moharram's story and screenplay was assured in its creation of an interlacing structure of contradictions and ironies, and allowed for the steady development of both narrative and characterisation. And the result of this fortuitous collaboration of experienced filmmakers was an entertaining and novel work which suggested profound themes within an essentially light-hearted story involving Hassan and Aziza.
Poor Hassan -- a lowly government employee from a modest family -- finds himself pursued by State Security, the Vice Squad, and for good measure a group of international terrorists, when all he wants is to earn his daily bread and occasionally consort with Aziza, the prostitute who provides him with a little relief from the humdrum, daily grind.
Together, Hassan and Aziza seek their moments of respite in an abandoned apartment in a run-down building in a popular district by the Citadel. Unfortunately, one such moment coincides with the visit of an important dignitary. For security reasons the police cordon off the area, and set up their surveillance head-quarters in the flat used by Hassan and Aziza. The apartment has been earmarked, too, by the terrorist gang intent on the assassination of the hapless visitor, the president of an unnamed, third world country whose minister of defence -- played by Tareq El-Telmesany -- is intent on replacing his boss.
Hassan, though, unaware of the potential overcrowding in the apartment, merrily arrives, having procured the key from a colleague at work. With him he carries the alcohol and cannabis he deems necessary for the much anticipated passionate encounter. Naturally, he is more than a little surprised when he finds members of the State Security aiming their guns at him and accusing him of being part of the conspiracy. Soon afterwards Aziza, known as Al-Laziza (the delicious), arrives humming an up-beat tune which excites the curiosity of a resident of the building, an adolescent student who, having been too busy with his exams, has not shaved for weeks. He too follows Aziza up the stairs and into the abandoned flat. And as if there were not enough arrivals, the situation is further complicated when the Vice Squad breaks into the flat at the exact same minute with the object of arresting Aziza.
The multiple arrivals are completed with the aid of much mirth, employed in a calculated way, with the sharp dialogue suggesting that the comedy is intended to carry a message. What is revealed is the futility and absurdity of power as two simple people are unjustly implicated in a terrorist plot, simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The situation of the student is perhaps a little worse, since not only is he in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he has also neglected to shave.
Director and scriptwriter maintain the momentum as Aziza flees to the flat of a rich and mentally unstable client who lives in Zamalek, while Hassan flees to his family. His younger brother receives him as a hero, if only because he is being pursued by the police, and the film turns on its heels, in a flurry of chases, to become a tale of ordinary Egyptians thwarting the activities of foreign terrorists in spite of the obstacles placed by the authorities whose job it is to combat terrorism.
The film begins to preach with increasing clarity, and the message becomes obvious: simple, seemingly helpless people such as Hassan and Aziza are indeed capable of dramatic actions, helping thwart the criminal goals of those motivated by ideological rigidity and the exercise of oppression. And this despite the fact that they can themselves be transformed into terrorists by the incompetent exercise of authority -- as exemplified in this film by the bumbling stupidity of Erfan, a police official played by Mohamed Kamel whose excesses are fortunately counterbalanced by the lucidity of officer Samir (Magdy Kamel) and the spontaneous urbanity of the Vice Squad officer played by Mohamed Lotfy.
Perhaps the most beautifully drawn character in the entire film, though, is that of Aziza. Instead of being condemned in the film, she is portrayed as a free-spirited, ingenuous and witty woman who choses a profession frowned upon by moral norms and the law.
Neither writer nor director spare any effort in emphasising the fictitious and comical aspect of both the film and its characters, contriving to establish an intellectual and emotional distance from the spectators. Even the credits conform with this policy, while the closing scenes re-establish the distance by presenting some of the defective shots discarded during the editing process. Underlining this distance is that the events of the film do not seem to occur in any identifiable time or place: no official photographs adorn the walls and no specific ideology is alluded to verbally or visually. Even the interior design of the locations fails to conform to any recognisable environment: sometimes the action seems to be taking place in a basement, or an abandoned building, while at others the backdrop appears to be a forsaken ruin. Most of the sets depart from the established stereotypes to the extent that an ordinary reception can take place in a Hassan Fathy-style villa with endless corridors and domes.
From the very first shot in Hassan wa Aziza -- Karim Gamaleddin's directorial debut -- the director succeeds in establishing a style of his own. His use of extreme close-ups during Youssra's shower scene creates a sensuality seldom encountered in other Egyptian productions. Similarly, his use of shadow play as Hassan and Aziza interrupt their escape to put their clothes back on, adds a distinct feeling of intimacy to the sequence. Other long sequences, such as the numerous chases, are successfully managed thanks to an editing formula relying on a fast pace which retains the spectators' attention.
Naturally, the film is not flawless. Some of the characters are redundant, forgotten the moment they step out of the frame. Yet as I walked out of the film I had the over-riding feeling that despite minor drawbacks, Hassan wa Aziza announces the arrival of a significant new talent. It is a witty, innovative film which boasts many pluses, including sound effects, music and lighting, and which does not pretend to be other than it is -- a light, entertaining work, which can be understood by all without compromising any of the fundamentals of cinematic art.
For screening details see Listings.
