Tarzan in Cairo? This fish-out-of-water comedy is gloriously unhinged.
Alaa lives and grows up in a forest in Africa, and before the death of his father, the ruler of the African country in which he and his son live recommends the necessity for Alaa to return to Egypt, and after his return Alaa finds it very difficult to adapt to the new situation in which he finds himself, until he finds a girl who teaches him to read And writing, and a love story arises between him and her.
Acting
Mohamed Awad commits fully to jungle-man physical comedy.
Production
Gloriously fake African locations shot who-knows-where.
Costume
Alaa's 'civilized' transformation is a fashion fever dream.
Director
Ali Badrakhan
Mohamed Awad
علاء
Mohamed Reda
حسنين
Nisreen
سحر
Mahmoud El Gendy
ضابط شرطة
Abu Bakr Ezzat
مجدي المحامي
Khayria Ahmed
عطيات المناديلي
Nabila El Sayed
أم سحر
Malak Elgamal
فهيمة المناديلي
Hassan Mostafa
Abdallah Farghaly
محفوظ
Mohamed Shawqi
Saif Allah Mokhtar
عامل المدبغة
Mahmoud El Qala'awy
الطبيب نجيب أبو عطوة
Adly Kasseb
عبدالعظيم بيه
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This film exemplifies 1970s Egyptian cinema's obsession with 'modernization' narratives—rural or 'primitive' characters must be tamed by urban literacy and heterosexual romance.
Director Ali Badrakhan was better known for serious social dramas; this rare comedy was reportedly a commercial detour that baffled critics expecting political weight.
EG
