Struggle in the Harbor

Youssef Chahine's 1956 Egyptian film follows Ragab, a sailor returning to Alexandria after three years. He had been saving to marry the woman he loves; the order on the docks has changed in the meantime and his old friend now stands on another side. The film shows the harbour as a place of work. The hierarchy among loaders, middlemen and fishermen sits inside the narrative, and Chahine's early realism is visible in those details. Faten Hamama and Omar Sharif lead, from Sharif's first years. The narrative follows the melodrama form, but violence and the question of labour do not stay in the background. Much of it was shot in real locations. Who it's for: those who like classic Egyptian cinema and harbour narratives. Who it's not for: viewers expecting modern pace; the playing and cutting follow the convention of the period.