The Headmaster

Ashour ran a school on harshness and fear; students and teachers alike were wary of him. When he dies the school passes to his son Salah. Salah is his opposite: incompetent, indecisive, and without confidence. He leaves the running of it to his father's deputy Sayed. The teacher Hussein wants Salah to stand on his own and starts helping him. If the school's results do not improve it faces closure. Sherif Arafa's film became one of the most widely seen Egyptian popular comedies. The narrative uses the shape of the school comedy but its underlying subject is stepping out of the shadow of a father's authority. Alaa Wali El Din plays Salah, in the best-known role of his career. Ahmed Helmy and Mohamed Saad are also in the cast, and both built their own careers after this film. Who it's for: Viewers who like Egyptian comedy, school 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 also episodic and some jokes are crude by present-day eyes.