30 Years Ago

Amr Arafa's 2016 Egyptian film opens with Omar returning from abroad and wanting to divide his fortune equally among his family of nine. But he says that something happens to everyone who takes the money and that the fortune is cursed. The film neither confirms nor refutes the claim. The deaths are real but their causes are not explained; the narrative leaves room for both a supernatural reading and a wholly material one and holds the viewer between them. The calculations of interest inside the family are the body of it. Who wants the money, who believes the curse and who is using it keep changing. Ahmed El Saqqa and Mona Zaki are in the cast; the narrative is crowded and some characters go undeveloped. Who it's for: those who like Egyptian thrillers and family-based mysteries. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a consistent explanation; the film leaves its ending uncertain.