As Not to Fly the Smoke

Ahmed Yehia's 1984 Egyptian film follows Fahmi, a poor law student. Unable to pay for his mother's treatment, he loses her, and watches his wealthy fellow students spend money freely. The subject is what follows that loss. Fahmi abandons his principles and looks for quick ways to make money; the narrative presents this not as moral collapse but as a demonstration of whom the system rewards. Adel Emam leads, standing well apart from his comic roles. The tone is hard and the close merciless; the film is remembered within the strain of social criticism in Egyptian cinema of the eighties. Who it's for: those who follow Egyptian social drama. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a hopeful close; the film does not save its character.