5/5 Stars
Film Clinic
2022, Drama
By HOWARD MCQUITTER II
19B is the sixth film by Egyptian director/writer Ahmad Abdalla at The Minneapolis- St. Paul International Film Festival. I had the honor to meet Mr. Ahmad Abdalla after the screening.
19B is about an elderly Egyptian gentleman, “The Guard” (Sayed Rogab), who stays in a dilapidated apartment building in a once affluent neighborhood in Cairo, Egypt. He’s been a longtime resident in the neighborhood. He acts like a caretaker in an abandoned building where he takes care of stray dogs and cats. He’s like the zoophilist in a tumbledown neighborhood where the streets can often be bare.
His daughter Yara (Nahed El Sebaï) visits him at least once a week, but she insists that he come and live with her. He stays in his pajamas when he gets up in the morning, and often wears them all day. He strolls around the villa, going to the gate, sometimes opening it to look out when he talks to his next door neighbor Sokkar (Magdy Atwan), caretaker for a high-rise. His neighbor’s high-rise is a last reminder of the area once a plush community. The old man is given scraps of food by a benevolent female doctor (Fadwa Abed) to feed his hungry dogs and cats.
Yara cannot get him to move, perhaps because the residence reminds him of a happier time. But the old man will not be alone for long because he’s being watched closely by an unscrupulous ex-con named Nasr (Ahmed Khaled Saleh) waiting to move into the villa by force. Nasr and his gang of street youth hang outside the villa’s gate selling illicit goods, including alcohol and cigarettes. They intimidate and harass the old man. Eventually Nasr and his gang move to take over the villa to the old man’s fear and surprise. Yara is rightfully upset and threatens to call the police on Nasr and his hoods. Nasr probably reasons the police will not likely come to a neglected part of Cairo for a “minor” problem. Before Nasr and his boys raided the villa, they had been charging motorists for parking in front of the villa. It is at the time of Nasr showing up everyday in front of the villa when the tension increases for the old guard.
19B is a beautifully paced, remarkable story – a light on a crumbling neighborhood that can be in any country, including the wealthiest ones. The old man and his neighbor are a beacon of light in surroundings that may not return to its former form. But if the neighborhood did return to its former status would they be able to afford it?
Director/Writer: Ahmad Abdalla.
Cast: Sayed Ragab (The Guard), Nahed El Sebai (Yara), Ahmad Khaled Saleh (Nasr), Fadwa Abed (The Doctor), Magdy Atwan (Sokkar).
Composer: Youssef Sadek.
Cinematography: Mostafa El Kashef.
Running time: 95 minutes.
Language: Arabic with English subtitles.
Howard McQuitter II is a longtime movie critic. He has been reviewing movies for the alley since 2002.
