Ali Mizah wa Ibrahim

Ali the Goat & Ibrahim took me by surprise. It has all the shades of a typical comedy drama and yet by the end of it it feels like having given out a profound message about love and death. The central characters Ali, his goat, and his neighbour Ibrahim set out to travel with the hope of getting away from their mundane life and specific issues (Ali is ridiculed by his mother for being obsessed with his goat while Ibrahim is irritated by a static noise that he keeps hearing everytime). So begins the journey and a sweet little tale of letting go and friendship. Al the Goat & Ibrahim is often funny, sometimes poignant, and rarely boring, and I will not be surprised if Egypt comes up with more feature films. There is also a little undercurrent of politics that director Sherif El Bendary mixes to his peculiar drama and which is another great feature of this short 90-minute film that is so rare to find. I will be looking forward to more from Egypt. TN.

(Watched and reviewed at its India premiere at the 21st MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.)