Kit Kat

Daoud Abdel Sayed's 1991 Egyptian film is adapted from Ibrahim Aslan's novel and set in the Kit Kat quarter of Giza. Sheikh Hosny is blind and refuses to accept it; he wants to ride a motorcycle, smokes hashish, involves himself in his neighbours' affairs and knows all the gossip of the district. His son Youssef dreams of going to Europe and is ashamed of his father's behaviour. The film tells their conflict inside the daily life of the neighbourhood: the coffee house, the minaret, narrow streets and an order in which everyone knows everyone. The humour is black and the scenes are at times painful; Hosny's stubbornness is as touching as it is ridiculous. It is counted among the most admired Egyptian films of the eighties and nineties. Mahmoud Abdel Aziz's performance is at its centre. Who it's for: viewers who like Arab cinema and character comedy. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a well-behaved plot; the film describes a neighbourhood.