25 April - 1 May 2002
Issue No.583
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 25 April - 1 May 2002 Issue No.583 |
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Fury signifying nothing
The most recent Egyptian production about the Intifada is a travesty, writes Amina Elbendary
There is pro-Palestinian self-absorbing energy in Cairo; everyone is trying to do something, anything, and nothing is being done.
Red, black, white and green flags fly in the spring breeze from public buildings, their paper variations pasted on walls, their miniature variations hanging from sympathetic chests.
The billboards for Burkan Al-Ghadab (Volcano of Fury) slot well in this scene. Kalashnikov-carrying, picture-perfect tough guy, bad-guy in sunglasses, star of David in the background -- what could this be if not a film about the Intifada? A must see for the politically-sympathetic/politically-frustrated? Such vague impressions having been made, I ventured into cinema Rivoli, with Palestinian-Egyptian friend in tow, to catch the midday show.
There is something derelict about the Rivoli, and more so at midday; the one-time picture palace now houses three screens, the high walls are painted pink and red, and the pervasive smell is of carbolic acid. There was a Palestinian flag in the foyer and ten souls in the cool theatre.
It is the same empty energy palpable on Cairene streets that must have produced Burkan Al-Ghadab. It opens to documentary footage of World War II showing Jews being driven into concentration camps. On the right of the screen are black and white portraits of the major political figures of the state of Israel since its inception. These blurry images, all in black and white, are followed by equally blurry but this time coloured footage of the Intifada. Palestinian reds and greens fill the screen, little boys throw stones at tanks, menacing soldiers threaten civilians, there are snap shots of Arafat at different historical moments -- all familiar. The soundtrack song (music by Moody El-Imam, vocals by Medhat Saleh) has a pop beat: "O Palestinian, support your religion" is the refrain.
The plot begins with a Palestinian agent, Khaled Shebib (fashion model Tamer Hagras's acting debut) undertaking assassinations of key Israeli figures, and escaping. Mossad want him and send their special forces out to get him. Superman that he is, he hides and escapes from their grip.
Palestinian feda'iyin, led by Khaled, gather around a camp fire, all wearing kufiyyas, hugging their rifles and singing patriotic songs. The politically-correct group includes a woman, Maryam, also the wife or girlfriend of "George," and they assure us that there are no sectarian fissures among Palestinians. Israeli undercover agents are shown in camp training to speak and act like Arabs. They invade Palestinian areas and attack Khaled's cell. Maryam is killed, Khaled is on the run.
The film was shot in Lebanon and the various landscapes, from mountain tops to lush green valleys, are intended as a convincing stand-in for Palestine. And conveniently, in terms of location shots, it is to Lebanon that Khaled escapes, from where he is led, by other Palestinian agents, to Egypt in order to negotiate an arms deal for the resistance. Once the plot moves out of Palestine, the action progresses very slowly.
In Alexandria Khaled is the house guest of an unsuspecting police officer, Hussein, the perfect cover, or so his Palestinian agent believes. A love story develops between the officer's younger sister, Sarah (played by Farah, like Hagras, a professional model) and Khaled. Sarah is a hip instructor at the Faculty of Fine Arts and is very sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, going out on demonstrations with her students. But this Egyptian-Palestinian love story -- indeed the whole plot -- is doomed to remain undeveloped and unconsummated.
In negotiating the arms deal Khaled has to deal with Khawaga Rosty, a stereotypically evil character of unclear nationality who is ready to do business with anyone. Khaled has a weapons shopping list worth $7 million. "All that is missing from this list are planes," Rosty jokes. "Soon," Khaled assures him.
Approached by Israeli agents, the arms dealers refuse to stop the deal; we sell the weapons, it's up to you to catch them at the borders, they argue. Illogical complications ensue but the deal is done, and the next challenge for Khaled is to smuggle the weapons to international waters. Egypt is a red zone, we are told, and though you can conduct the deal in Egypt you cannot exchange the weapons in Egyptian territory. In the meantime, Alexandria security officials are informed of the presence of undercover Israeli agents hunting down a Palestinian freedom fighter and Hussein discovers his own house guest is the man in question. He too, in addition to the Israeli agents, is now after Khaled, for this is an illegal arms deal. Step in Sarah, who helps Khaled in dodging the police. Hussein is confronted with his own sister on board the ship, though without the weapons. In the midst of this confusing moral dilemma, and torn between official duty and patriotics, Hussein chooses to look the other way and Khaled escapes. The film ends, with Khaled floating the weapons in barrels off the coast of Gaza (we don't know whether they are intercepted by the Israeli coast guards) and Hussein resigning his position in the police force to confirm his patriotic decision.
No doubt a well-intentioned endeavour, but one with faults, the most unforgivable of which is the litany of clichés the scriptwriter (Ahmed El-Khatib) strings together. Not only are sectarian politics smooth, but all Arabs are unified in support of the cause: Lebanese, Gulf Arabs, Egyptians -- all support the Palestinians, each in their way and "We are all Arabs" (in case any of the viewers had occasion to forget). It is unbearable, this parody of Arab discourse. And there is no hint of irony intended by the filmmakers.
Burkan Al-Ghadab is a sad film, sad because profoundly disappointing, and disappointing because there could be no more apposite a time to release a film that deals with Palestinian affairs. Nor is it necessarily disdainful to produce a Hollywood-styled movie about the Intifada, although the project is subject to many misgivings. But Burkan Al-Ghadab does not even meet that standard. Director Mazin El- Gabali has not made a film about the Intifada, or about Egyptian support of the Palestinian struggle for independence and statehood -- popular or official. Burkan Al-Ghadab is a ridiculous parody of a national struggle in Rambo-like terms. And that -- especially now -- is an inanity.
Commercial Egyptian feature films have for some time now refrained from taking the Arab-Israeli conflict as the subject, or even backdrop, of their plot. Last summer's Asshab walla Business (Friends or Business Partners?) was the exception, signalling perhaps a new interest on the part of young filmmakers in things national and political. It remains to be seen whether Burkan Al-Ghadab will be followed by others and mark a trend in Egyptian cinema, and whether such successors attempt to be a little more sophisticated in plot and in cinematography. Rumour has it that Youssri Nasrallah is preparing a movie on the Palestinians. We're waiting.
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