Wahed Men El-Nas wavers between artistic and commercial cinemas
ByDaily Star Egypt staff
Wahed Men El-Nas (One of the People)Director: Ahmed Nader GalalScriptwriter: Belal FadlStars: Karim Abdel Aziz, Menna Shalaby, Mahmoud El Gindy, Ahmed Rateb and Ezzat Abu Ouf
CAIRO: Before buying tickets to watch Wahed Men El-Nas (One of the People), someone advised my friends and me that if we were looking for a comedy or a lighthearted movie then this was not the film to watch; it s a tearjerker.
The person who issued the warning was right; the film is a drama. But it s also as commercial as any other film showing in cinemas today. The problem, or the advantage for some people, is that the film could be easily divided into two parts: one commercial and the other an independent artsy film.
Just by being a drama, the film represents a departure from the mainstream commercial productions that dominate the scene every summer. Aside from the occasional jokes here and there, the plotline unfolds in a drama reminiscent of artistic movies seen only at festivals.
The film explores the life, aspirations, and troubles of typical low-income families. At the center is Mahmoud (Karim Abdel Aziz), a security man working on minimum wage, who, in spite of his daily attempts to secure a living, remains relatively optimistic about the future. With the support of his young wife, Menna Shalaby, they share the dream of a better life, especially with the expected birth of their baby boy.
The film indirectly refers to recent events, reflecting social injustice. There were numerous allegations that citizens had been wrongfully indicted in criminal court cases throughout past years. Mahmoud experience this first hand. A man who had been satisfied with whatever life had to offer, now finds himself in the middle of a murder case involving society s high profile elite.
While guarding the garage, a fight between two rich men ends with one dead. Through the efforts of a corrupt police officer, lawyer and high profile businessman and politician, Mahmoud, along with another fellow security guard, turn from witnesses to suspects.
Bringing the plight of this impoverished class into the spotlight, the film explores what people are capable of doing in order to secure money for their families. The story, along with Abdel Aziz s superb acting, beautifully explores the inner struggle of a man with a troubled conscience and a reality that forces him to act against his beliefs.
During the first half of the film, director Ahmed Nader Galal, scriptwriter Belal Fadl and the cast deliver a number of quality scenes that highlight the conflict between Mahmoud s sense of guilt and his responsibilities towards his family. And Abdel Aziz isn’t the only talent at work; Shalaby masterfully plays the hopeful young woman whose dreams are crushed by feelings of injustice and helplessness.
But the peak of this injustice is also a closure to the qualitative artistic part of the film, paving the way to the commercial thriller in the second half.
In the second half, action-packed scenes replace the emotional ones. As Mahmoud seeks revenge for his earlier injustice in vigilante fashion, the film fails to properly explore his inner-psyche. The aspect of a relatively passive person with a strong conscience transforming into a man blinded by the idea of revenge was almost overlooked by the filmmakers. The contrast between the richness of the tear-jerking scenes at the beginning and the little attention given to this major character transformation represents a change in emphasis from the artistic to the commercial.
The best part about the second half is Ezzat Abu Ouf s performance. In his second appearance without his customary wig (the first was in “Halim ), Abu Ouf plays the powerful businessman Kamal Abul Azm. With a mere facial twitch, Abu Ouf is able to convey an ocean of tension and fear.
But the second half, although surprising at the outset, should have been expected; it fits the scriptwriter s previous work. Fadl has specialized in commercial blockbusters that survey impoverished and marginalized parts of society: the foul-mouthed Khalti Faransa (Aunt Fransa), last season s Haha and Tofaha, and this summer s Awdet El Nadla (The Return of the Unhelpful) and Wesh Egram (Criminal Tendencies).
Fadl s attempt to add a deep humanistic dimension to this film is respectable but he failed to waive the action-packed scenes; he did a better job with Abdel Aziz and director Galal in their previous collaboration in Abu Aly. This time, the end result is confusing; it s neither fully artistic nor commercial.
