Since the earliest days of cinema, filmmakers have woven together separate tales in the service of a theme. Jorge Fons’s Midaq Alley employs this multiple-story framework to tell the complex tales of four separate characters in search of their dreams. Transposing the Nobel Prize–winning novel by Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz from 1940s Cairo to a contemporary Mexico City neighborhood, the film depicts the intertwining lives of the characters and their connection to Don Ru, the owner of the pub where the locals play dominoes. One of the most successful Mexican films of the 90s, Midaq Alley is a film of observant depth and frankness.