A madman exposes humanity’s insanity. Andeel leaves a mental hospital after 10 years of treatment are over to face the world again. Whenever he reveals that he used to be a mental patient, he is faced with aggressive suspicion, cruelty and rejection. When a shop owner refuses to hire him, he yells that he is the only one with an official certificate that proves he is actually sane. We follow his miserable search for a job and watch situations in which, over and over again, he gets very close to a decent life just before his unrestrained tongue reveals a side of his madness that freaks people out. Andeel is an honest, kind person who’s good at what he does, but people’s uncontrollable fear of madness makes them want to get rid of him and the uncomfortable state he puts them in, probably because of how normal he seems, just like them, yet how crazy he is, like they fear they might be.
Acting
Ismail Yasseen walks a tightrope between heartbreaking and hilarious.
Writing
Dialogue that stings—every 'sane' person indicts themselves.
Director
Hasan El-Saifi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ismail Yasseen was Egypt's king of comedy; this rare dramatic turn was considered career suicide. He reportedly took the role to prove the 'funny man' could break your heart.
The film was barely released in 1963—censors feared it mocked Egyptian bureaucracy. It found its audience decades later when bootlegs circulated among film students who recognized the Nasser-era hypocrisy it was really targeting.
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