When Egyptian pop star and actor Tamer Hosny was promoting his latest feature, Tisbah Ala Kheir (Good Night), he promised a film that would represent a creative peak for the Arabic film industry. This isn't quite it.
The drama, which repeatedly leaps from the present to the subconscious, is an amalgam of Hollywood winners like Inception and Memento and makes solid use of its lead star.
Hosny plays Hossam Al Khedawi, a successful entrepreneur who becomes depressed by the news that his wife (Nour) cannot bear children.
Refusing to consider divorce, Al Khedawi instead limps along in life and goes on to make increasingly errant business decisions.
Relief is provided in the form of wily software developer Saja (Mae Amar), who gives Al Khedawi a test-drive of a programme that allows him to plunge into a carefully curated alternate universe.
Al Khedawi is immediately hooked, and you cannot blame him. The other-worldly experiences are similar to those Choose Your Own Adventure books, with a fail-safe mechanism when things get too hairy.
In one "trip" he becomes a Jack Sparrow-like character, stranded on a life raft with pirates on his tail, while in another he is plunged into the seedy nightclubs of Cairo. Both set pieces are executed well, with plenty of rapid-fire zingers and old fashioned comedic fight scenes, recalling The Three Stooges for inspiration.
The second half of Tisbah Ala Kheir takes an ambitious turn, as Al Khedawi chooses to live most of his days in a dream-like state, unburdened by responsibilities. The film rises to the challenge, without losing its tone.
Despite a few jarring violent scenes, director Mohammed Samy – who worked with Hosny on his previous two films, comedies Ahwak and Omar Wa Salma – does a fine job of keeping the film light and surprisingly soulful.
Hosny, who winds up playing several characters, could have used the various dream scenarios to stretch himself a little further. Instead, he plays it safe but he injects enough dry humour to keep us engaged.
And while the film may not reach its lofty ambitions, Tisbah Ala Kheir is a charming tale that is bound to generate conversation.
Tisbah Ala Kheir is in cinemas now
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT: SAUDI ARABIA RESULTS
Main card
Middleweight:
Robert Whittaker defeated Ikram Aliskerov via knockout (Round 1)
Heavyweight:
Alexander Volkov def Sergei Pavlovich via unanimous decision
Middleweight:
Kelvin Gastelum def Daniel Rodriguez via unanimous decision
Middleweight:
Shara Magomedov def Antonio Trocoli via knockout (Round 3)
Light heavyweight:
Volkan Oezdemir def Johnny Walker via knockout (Round 1)
Preliminary Card
Lightweight:
Nasrat Haqparast def Jared Gordon via split decision
Featherweight:
Felipe Lima def Muhammad Naimov via submission (Round 3)
Welterweight:
Rinat Fakhretdinov defeats Nicolas Dalby via split decision
Bantamweight:
Muin Gafurov def Kang Kyung-ho via unanimous decision
Light heavyweight:
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov def Brendson Ribeiro via majority decision
Bantamweight:
Chang Ho Lee def Xiao Long via split decision
Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
The five pillars of Islam
