alr

Terrorism and the Kebab
(al-Irhab Wal Kabab)

Directed by Sherif Arafa.
With Adel Emam, Youssra, Kamal El-Shinnawi.
1992, video, color, 89 min.
Arabic with English subtitles.

Terrorism and the Kebab is a contemporary farce that denounces the absurdity of bureaucracy in modern Egypt. Adel Imam, Egypt's leading comic actor, is a father who wants to move his son to a school closer to home. He goes to El-Mugarmaa, the center of Cairo's monolithic bureaucracy, to pick up the required documents. Frustrated by the lack of response, he ends up attacking a fundamentalist official and, when armed police respond to the situation, a machine guyn accidentally finds its way into Imam's hands. As a terrorist, his demands to the Minister of Internal Affairs are simple:shish kebab made of high-class lamb. After sharing a hearty meal with his hostages, however, his demands become more political.

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