You Know Who

Wael Ehsan's 2003 Egyptian film follows Ellambi, who steals money from his uncle and goes to prison. He escapes, has an accident while being pursued, and after it his life goes in an entirely different direction. The whole weight of the film is in how the lead speaks. Ellambi uses a dialect and vocabulary of his own; his lines entered Egyptian popular culture and the character became a figure in his own right. Mohamed Saad leads, and the role made him the most watched comic performer of the period. The narrative is loose and episodic, a series of comic situations rather than a plot. Who it's for: those who like 2000s Egyptian comedy. Who it's not for: viewers without Arabic or familiarity with the local dialect; most of the humour rests on language and is lost in translation.