With Khaled Abol Naga, Atef Yousef, Hany Adel, Yosra El-Lozy,| Egypt 120mins Cert12
Upbeat, fun and vibrant; Microphone is a picture postcard from the Mediterranean town of Alexandria and Ahmad Abdalla’s follow up to Heliopolis.
Khaled (lead and co-producer Khaled Abol Naga) arrives back in his native town from the States to find things aren’t what they used to be. Even his former girlfriend is moving on to study abroad. He comes across a band of young musicians and a documentary crew who want to film him. Although glad to be back home, his life is “touched with a little bit of sadness that never goes away” thanks to his unsettled love life.
Punchy, full of passion and often rather hit and miss, this film taps into the Alexandrian way of life and sheer exhuberance of Egyptian culture. Khaled’s character remains undefined. He’s a metaphor for Alexandria’s sultry dynamism, a guy reacting to events around him, and Abdalla’s visualized fascination with the city’s urban energy is a magnetic force and a delightful insight into Egypt before the Arab Spring. MT ©