The Land

Youssef Chahine's 1969 Egyptian film is adapted from the novel by Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi and set in a village in the 1930s. The state halves the share of irrigation water allotted to the peasants, and the landowning bey wants a strip of their fields to open a road to his own land. The villagers write a petition first, then split: some choose to resist, some to come to terms, some to look after their own interest. The film's real subject is not the injustice but why acting together is so hard; Chahine does not idealise the peasants and shows the jealousy, fear and calculation among them plainly. Mahmoud el-Meliguy's performance as a peasant bound to his land is counted among the best known in Arab cinema. The closing scene is direct and harsh. It competed at Cannes. Who it's for: viewers who like Arab cinema and social realism. Who it's not for: anyone expecting brisk storytelling; the film keeps the pace of village life.