Easy come, easy go
Kamla Abu Zikri's romantic comedy, Sana Oula Nasb (First-year Swindling), written by Samira Mohsen, is contemporary film's answer to a Red Sea resort -- pretty, straightforward and luxurious but somewhat too frivolous for comfort. Set in Hurghada, it has a simple, entertaining plot filled with beautiful landscapes and colourful views, and its cast is as emphatically pretty as its scenic backgrounds. Ahmed Ezz and Khaled Selim play two idle university graduates who, in their desperate battle with unemployment, decide to become conmen, perpetrating a couple of scams in Cairo before fleeing to Hurghada to rip off older foreign women. There the two playboys unexpectedly encounter Dalia El-Beheiri and Nour -- a hip hotel animator and passionate photographer, respectively -- and while Selim genuinely falls for the former, it is the latter's rich father that attracts Ezz. The plot thickens...
There are as many qualities to recommend Sana Oula Nasb as there are problems that will betray it. The film strives somewhat too hard to target as large an audience as possible, and the elements that make for commercial success -- catchy music, dance, comedy and amour -- do not fit too comfortably together. The acting is similarly hit-and-miss. In his first appearance on screen Selim proves adequate by and large -- as a comedian he is both charming and easy to relate to -- but, in the emotionally demanding episodes, he tends to overact, his charm giving way to blundering. Selim's strength lies largely in his singing, making his four performances highlights of the viewing experience. Ezz, by contrast, is relaxed and natural even at the most acute junctures, but in the end remains nothing to shout about. And however unrealistic their characters, both El-Beheiri and Nour give refreshing performances. It is the dialogue -- Nour nonchalantly telling Ezz, on meeting him, that she likes more than anything to photograph handsome men -- that tends to let the action down, undermining the film's credibility. El-Beheiri's character is by far the most realistic, though when she apologises to a man who has been harassing her, all such credibility is lost, bringing her back in line with the "light" tenor of a film that should not be taken too seriously.
Such, indeed, is the defining characteristic of Sana Oula Nasb : the film is so light its principal characters have the names of the actors playing them -- which gives the audience four less names to remember, presumably, saving them even that most basic of mental activities. In the end it is music that saves the day, testifying to Abu Zikri's ability to coordinate the visual rhythm of the film with a rich musical score. Editing is likewise top-notch -- so much so that, as an extended video clip, Sana Oula Nasb is a masterpiece indeed. A masterpiece of comedy it is not, by contrast, though a whole group of characters -- headed by the omnipresent Hassan Hosni -- seem to be present solely for the sake of comic relief. During the first half of the film, Hosni's character, while not hampering the action, contributes absolutely nothing to the drama; every line he utters is a joke -- and a typically funny one at that. In the second half, by contrast, he suddenly turns into the film's most active agent of dramatic resolution, disentangling all the knots that arise in the course of Khaled and Ahmed's complex interactions with Dalia and Nour.
The film's overriding problem is its failure to focus sufficiently on developing character or maintaining a plotline. To a far greater extent than is advisable, everything about the film, especially the music sequences, shout out, "Look at us, we're having fun !" Alas, following such excessive displays of good cheer, the more serious, "dramatic" moments with which Abu Zikri attempts to balance out her stakes end up being hollow and unconvincing, since too much of the film affirms and re-affirms the notion that nothing about it should after all be taken seriously. Characters who undertake comic relief are moreover so farcical and unreal it is hard to relate to them even when they "act serious": they lack the human qualities that could have made for a real film. While able to bring together a talented cast, excellent cinematography and good music, Abu Zikri, alas, gave each of these elements a more or less separate direction, her major directorial choices proving far better than her minor ones. And despite being a reasonable attempt at what it is -- a light entertainment catering to all tastes -- the impression with which one leaves the movie house is one of forced frivolity -- of fun, not for its own sake or in the service of some higher artistic goal, but simply and shamelessly for profit.
By Sherif Nakhla
