She Made Me a Criminal

Saifi is naive, well-meaning and broke; his house is about to fall down and he has no money to repair it. Hend is a rich girl, but her father is a miser and will not let her touch her inheritance. To force his hand she stages a fake kidnapping, bringing in her friend and Saifi. The plan does not work; Saifi becomes a genuinely wanted criminal, and along the way falls in love with Hend. Amr Arafa's film runs in the familiar shape of Egyptian popular comedy: misunderstandings, chases, and a lie that keeps growing. Ahmed Helmy's physical comedy carries it, and it became one of the most widely seen Egyptian comedies of its time. Ghada Adel plays Hend. The narrative touches on class difference but uses it as a joke rather than a conflict. Who it's for: Viewers who like Egyptian comedy, Ahmed Helmy's films, and Arab popular cinema of the 2000s. Who it's not for: The humour depends entirely on dialect and local reference. The narrative is predictable and the writing of the woman is weak.