Date Wine

Radwan El Kashef's 1998 Egyptian film is set in a village in Upper Egypt where dates are grown. A stranger arrives proposing work abroad, and nearly all the grown men leave. Those left behind are the women, an old grandfather and his grandson Ahmed. The film describes that emptiness; the work does not get done, the order changes and the position of the women shifts quickly. The narrative is not realist and stays close to the language of fable, with the date palm recurring as a symbol. The cinematography and use of place stand out; Sherihan leads. Who it's for: those who like Egyptian cinema and poetic rural narrative. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a realistic account of migration; the film builds its subject through analogy.