Sayed al-Bolti

Sayed al-Bolti (

Events begin in the home of a fisherman named Sayed al-Bolti while he is out to sea. Mahmoud al-Bolti (Mohammad Nouh) runs away in protest of his lot in life, chased by Hanafi al-Bolti (Ezzat El Alaili) and Mahmoud's father Muhammad al-Bolti (Ibrahim Emara. Hanafi's mother (Nahed Samir) watches from outside the house and asks “Where are you, Sayed al-Bolti.” Hanafi, Sayed's son, calls out the words on his mind to his absent father: “What is your task, Sayed? The sun has set, and time has risen like a faithful dog.” Rumors circulate that Sayed al-Bolti has been seduced and captured by mermaids. His colleagues gather to squabble over shares between themselves and with the owner of the charter boats, Moallem Abdel-Mawgoud (Tawfiq al-Daqan), who the small-time fishermen accuse of destroying their livelihoods by accepting an offer to join a large foreign fishing trawler’s crew. In a night bar serving the ancient fermented wheat beer known as “bouza,” is visiting with his beloved dancer Kaydahm (Fatma Ali) and his owner and singing duet partner Ibrahim Juma (Abdel Azim Abdel Haq). Meanwhile, the elderly Hamouda al-Bolti (Shafik Nour El Din) is treating his asthma with a doctor named Sayed Effendi (Abdel Rahman Abou Zahra), who is in love with Hanafi’s beautiful sister Aisha (Madiha Hamdi) and is only stopped from marrying her by her family’s hostility. Finally, Hanafi falls in love with Zoba (Soheir El-Morshidy), Hamouda’s eldest daughter.

The conflict between the old and new ways simmers as the fishermen are torn between the hope of Sayed al-Bolti’s return on his dhow and Mahmoud’s invitation to join Abdel-Mawgoud on the trawler. In the final scene, Mahmoud lies on the deck and fields the following complaint from one of the die-hard mourners of Sayed: “I am afraid, Mahmoud, that you are dreaming and only think of dreams.” Mahmoud retorts that “all the sweet things in the world were once dreams. Nobody imagines a need unless he can achieve it given the faith, determination, and patience necessary. With lifelong perseverance, one’s greatest dreams are within reach.”

Cast

• Ezzat El Alaili (Hanafi ibn Sayed al-Bolti)
• Soheir El-Morshidy (Zoba bint Hamouda al-Bolti)
• Mohammad Nouh (Mahmoud ibn Muhammad al-Bolti)
• Madiha Hamdi (Aisha bint Sayed al-Bolti, Hanafi's sister)
• Tawfiq al-Daqan (Moallem Abdel-Mawgoud)
• Abdel Rahman Abou Zahra (Sayed Effendi, a doctor)
• Abdul-Badi Al-Arabi (Sayed al-Balti)
• Nahed Samir (Hanafi al-Bolti's mother)
• Ibrahim Emara (Muhammad al-Balti, Mahmoud's father)
• Abdel Azim Abdel Haq (Ibrahim Juma, owner of the tavern)
• Fatma Ali (Kaydahm)
• Shafik Nour El Din (Hamouda al-Bolti)
• Motawia Owaise (Salma al-Sayyad)
• Fattheia Aly (maid)
• Toson Moatamed (hunter)
• Leonie Lyon (yacht owner)^[1]

Production and reception

Three films directed by

The film criticism website Bidayyat writes that “Saleh shot the film in September 1967, that is, three months after the Six-Day War.” The presumptive disappearance of Sayed al-Balti leaves him a fallen legend, and Hanafi seeks the mirage for his guidance in filling his father's shoes since “the burden is heavy.”^[5]

In an article in the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, the following is written in summary:

It is an important film, not necessarily for any political perspective but for the unflinching depiction of the peasant class and its concerns. Every social nuance of the interactions, small and large, is captured by cinematographer Wadid Sirry’s use of natural lighting [as opposed to the spotlights and Hollywood techniques used in mainstream Egyptian cinema of the time].^[6]

Censorship

After coming back from a visit to his grieving mother-in-law in

Saleh reported later that he withdrew it from some early showings when censors called it “degenerate” for actress Soheir El-Morshidy to shave up to the knee.^{[7][8][9][10]}

References

External links

• IMDb page
• El Cinema page
• French Ministry of National Education site on Arabic-language scholarship
• Article from Aswat Online