The Hunger
Egyptian drama portraying human malice in the form of egoism, corruption and tyranny. Local gangsters demand protection money from the starving citizens of Cairo. By accident, weak-willed Farag kills one of the gangsters and is turned into a hero by the community. However, the adoration goes to his head; he takes a wife from a higher class and starts profiting on other people’s misery. Meanwhile, the rest of the city is starving. The film is based on the novel The Harafish (1977), written by Naguib Mahfouz. The action takes place in the 19th century, but with clear parallels to Egypt under modern dictators. rk
Aly Badrakhan is born in Cairo. His films are known for their complex narrative structure and their social criticism. He has won several prestigious awards, for films such as The Karnak Café (1975) and Chafika and Metwalli (1977). He received the State Award for excellence in the arts from the Supreme Council of Culture in 2004.
Original title Al-goua
Year 1986
Director Aly BADRAKHAN
Screenplay Esam ALI, Aly BADRAKHAN
Cinematography Mahmoud ABDELSAMIE
Cast Mahmoud Abdel AZIZ, Soad HOSNY, Abdel Aziz MAKHYOUN
Runtime 1h 51m
Format 35mm
Links IMDb