Bara El Manhag

Amr Salama's 2021 Egyptian film is set in a country town in the early eighties. Nour, thirteen, is an orphan; he is bright but lies constantly, and his glasses do not quite fix his eyesight. To win respect at school he decides to enter the house across the way said to be haunted. The film holds a child's view and does not overplay the fear; the subject is what the lying gains Nour and what it costs him. The period detail is careful and the humour dominant. Maged El Kedwany appears. The narrative does not arrive at a lesson. Who it's for: those who like Egyptian cinema and stories of childhood. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a real horror film; this one stays close to comedy.