Directed by Youssef Chahine • 1994 • Egypt
Starring Youssra, Khaled el-Nabawy, Mahmoud Hemida
One of director Youssef Chahine’s most controversial works ignited a firestorm of criticism from both Islamic and Christian voices, who objected to its liberal reinterpretation of the biblical story of Joseph (here renamed Ram to skirt censorship that forbids the depiction of religious figures). Nevertheless the film proved one of Chahine’s biggest commercial triumphs at home, a passionate evocation of ancient Egypt that uses the story—in which a young dreamer (Khaled el-Nabawy) leaves behind his backwards rural home and sets off to the intellectual center of Egypt on a journey fraught with political and sexual peril—to comment on deeply personal ideas about resistance, sacrifice, and liberation.
Up Next in Directed by Youssef Chahine
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The Devil of the Desert
Directed by Youssef Chahine • 1954 • Egypt
Starring Omar Sharif, Mariam Fakhr Eddine, Lola SedkyDirector Youssef Chahine’s young discovery Omar Sharif blazes across the screen in this whirlwind swashbuckling adventure. He plays a young bedouin who sets out to overthrow a tyrannical ruler by fi...
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The Other
Directed by Youssef Chahine • 1999 • Egypt, France
Starring Hany Salama, Hanan Turk, Nabila EbeedThis wildly plotted drama marks the end of Youssef Chahine’s love affair with the United States, commenting on everything from capitalist greed to American cultural imperialism to terrorism within ...
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The Sixth Day
Directed by Youssef Chahine • 1986 • Egypt
Starring Dalida, Mohsen Mohieddin, ShwikarThis singularly arresting adaptation of a novel by renowned writer Andrée Chedid casts French pop star Dalida (in her final screen performance) as a married washerwoman trying to save the life of her stricken ...
