WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!
Hello and welcome back to Ask Hue Mann: Ramadan Edition! I have been under the radar for quite some time unfortunately but I'm back now and I've come bearing gifts. Four gifts to be precise ;)
This blog post will specifically catch the eye of my Egyptian Readers, because one thing we all love is Ramadan, and with Ramadan comes spiritual healing, getting closer to Allah, family gatherings over iftar, and, of course, television series. I have taken it upon myself to watch four of the most talked about Ramadan Shows of 2017 and now, I'm here to tell you exactly what I thought about each and every one of them. In order of my watching, here they are!
1. Kafr Delhab (كفر دلهاب)
So basically, the story is about a place called Kafr Delhab that has been supposedly cursed by the vengeful spirit of a farmer's daughter named Rihana (not the singer haha) who has been killed but her killer was not brought to justice. The spirit comes to the Kafr Doctor, Saad, who goes on a mission against the tyranny of the Kafr's wealthiest families and it's law enforcement to solve Rihana's murder and break the curse. Along the way, several plots are revealed, people died, and questions arise.
To further explain my view on this show, it ended with Doctor Saad being behind the so called curse, faking every horror scene in the Kafr, all in order to get his revenge on those who betrayed him and his parents years ago. This lead him to becoming a demon of vengeance who cares not how much blood is spilled before the truth is revealed.
I started watching Kafr Delhab based on a, shall we say, recommendation by a close friend. Kafr Delhab is supposed to be a horror/murder mystery series. I could see the murder mystery very clearly, however I found the horror parts in the show quite cliche, even funny sometimes. This kinda put me off the horror aspect of the show, but I continued watching it for the sake of finishing the story. However, when it was revealed the everything that happened in Kafr Delhab was all a ruse created by Doctor Saad, I understood more and let the fact that most of it was like a bad rendition of The Exorcist slide a bit. I still think it could have been executed better, though.
As for the acting during the show, it was sub-par, to say the least. Throughout the show, I was most disappointed with Yousef Al Sherif, who plays the main character, Doctor Saad. I thought he could have portrayed more emotion and facial expression in his role, since his character usually witnessed most of the things that would leave any normal human being running screaming their head off. But he was mostly blank. That part was cleared up by the ending though. More so, Yousef Al Sherif's true talent was shown in the very last scene in the final episode, where he reveals his true, dark intentions, as well as his true identity, that of the demon he has become. The rest of the cast was in fact sub-par in their acting, but if I had to pick, the top cast members other than Yousef Al Sherif would be Mohamed Reyad, who played Bahaa-Aldiin Katkhoda, and Rojina, who played Lady Zohra. Mohamed Reyad's acting was excellent and was by far the greatest out of all the other cast members. Everything in his character portrayal was spot on, all he needed was better reacting to the horror scenes (which was what the whole cast needed, actually). Rojina's portrayal of her character was quite good, although she tends to make it a tad over dramatic. Other than that, I thought her acting was definitely one of the best.
Overall, Kafr Delhab has a great story, but probably one best read and not portrayed on film. It would have been so much better had there been better execution of the horror aspect of the show. And most of the cast was alright, but definitely could have done better than they did.
Rating: Average 3/5 - 4/5 story, 3/5 cast, 2/5 effects
2. La Tottfea Al Shams (لا تطفئ الشمس)
Disclaimer: I have neither read the books nor have I seen the film. This is based only on the television show.
La Tottfea Al Shams, based on a two part novel written by Egyptian novelist Ihsan Abdel Quddous, is a story about a high society family in Egypt and the tales of romance of each family member, their struggles in life, identity crises, and the strength of the bond of family despite all odds.
This is one of the two shows I have watched based purely on word of mouth and what I have seen on social media. The show actually caused quite a bit of controversy when it comes to the ethics and morals here in Egypt. Characters were seen numerous times consuming alcohol and narcotics, as well as doing other unspeakables. To put your minds at ease about this issue, the reason why the younger generation is the main fan of this show is because it shows the reality of some ethical problems in Egypt. That does not mean I condone this kind of behavior, however I also do not want to live in a state of denial that these kind of things actually happen here. I don't see that the show encourages this behavior, but it merely brings it into the light, and I think one of society's main problems is turning a blind eye to things we know are wrong. So, to wrap up this point, my opinion is that La Tottfea Al Shams' purpose in showing this unwanted behavior in it's characters and story is to make it as real as possible, maybe not authentic, but most assuredly real.
The story and how all the characters' lives are intertwined in the show is grasping. Something I really liked about this aspect is that you can find something to relate to in each of the characters' lives. A crisis of identity here, a quest for purpose there, a pinch of the need to understand one's self, and sometimes a need to burst your own bubble and break out of the shell. After watching the show, I would definitely like to read the novel and see each character in more detail.
Just like Grand Hotel, the scenery as well as the soundtrack were perfect and mesmerizing. Everything in the show was absolutely beautiful and kept my eyes glued to the screen. It was both colorful, bright, and warm as well as dark, sad, and cold, each at the exact time. Perfect execution.
If you've seen the show, you'll recognize some familiar faces from the Ramadan 2016 hit show, Grand Hotel, which is one of the reasons the show caught my eye since I have seen and loved it, but it wasn't reason enough to make me start watching it. However, they did not disappoint. The rising star, who is already being called the greatest actor of his generation, Mohamed Mamdouh stars as the oldest son in the family, Ahmed, who faces the identity crisis in the show. As usual, Mohamed Mamdouh has not failed to yank on our heartstrings, just as he did in Grand Hotel. Every scene where he was happy-go-lucky, we were all beaming with joy along with him, and every scene where he is sad and cries, our eyes stream with him as well. He is without a doubt one the best actors I have seen. Amina Khalil also stars in the show as one of the three daughters of the family, Ingy, who faces a journey towards understanding and loving herself. Amina Khalil made us all fall in love with her last year in Grand Hotel, and after seeing her in La Tottfea Al Shams, I still love her, perhaps even more. Her character, Ingy was quite complicated in the show, giving her sisters advice on love and lecturing them on morals sometimes while also facing similar problems in her marriage. She joins Mohamed Mamdouh in my top cast members of this show. A particular new face to me would be Ahmed Malek, who plays the youngest son of the family, Adam, who struggles against societal standards for his love for a simple girl, the sister of a mechanic, in Engineering School. I don't think I've seen Ahmed Malek on screen before, but after watching him in this show, I can say without a doubt that he is definitely one of the best actors I've seen yet, and one of the best on this show. His character was perhaps the most complicated. Adam was used to living on the wild side, clubbing every night, drinking, hooking up with girls, the whole package. But he was in touch and aware of his personality and beliefs, something he made clear to his family and something they couldn't understand. When he meets the girl he wants to commit to and settle down with finally, the idea is rejected because of the social gap between his family and Habiba's, his love interest. Again, another relatable character. All the other cast members were great, but since I picked the best, I'll have to pick the worst. My pick for the worst acting on the show is Jamila Awad, who I like to call the Egyptian version of Kristen Stewart. She literally has the same expression on her face during the entire show, perhaps a little less so when she's crying. Jamila Awad's acting made me get bored of her character very quickly, despite her character, Aya, having possibly the most complicated life out of all her family. I'm aware she's a bit new to acting, but there could have been better performance on Jamila's part.
Overall, La Tottfea Al Shams is definitely worthy of being a hit series. The story is amazing, the effects are beautiful, and the cast is excellent.
Rating: Average 4.7/5 - 5/5 story, 4/5 cast, 5/5 effects
3. Halawet Al Donya (حلاوة الدنيا)
This show is the heartbreaker of the 4. Halawet Al Donya is a tale of struggle against cancer, shown in the life of one Amina, a smart, beautiful young woman with everything, her new managing position in her job, her wonderful fiancee whom she is about to marry, and a loving and supportive family. Everything was all rosy for her until she learns that she has leukemia. That's when her whole life is flipped upside down.
To start with, the effects in the show are so beautiful, everything is bright and colorful, and is supported by a phenomenal soundtrack. You're probably thinking, why make everything so colorful and bright when the show is so sad and cancer and bla bla bla. For precisely that reason! The story and struggles in the show are sad enough, if the effects were also dark and gloomy, we'd all be depressed by the 10th episode. So I applaud the effects team on a job well done.
The cast in its entirety was brilliant. All acting was amazing and on point. My top picks for the best acting during the show were definitely Hend Sabry (no bias under name sharing here haha) who plays our main character Amina and shows phenomenal talent throughout the show, Hanan Motawie who plays Sarah, Amina's best friend and a key role in her support system, and who also brings light-heartedness and shows us all what we want in a true friend through our darkest times, and last but not least, Anochka (you may know her from Grand Hotel as the evil scheming mother) who plays Amina's mother, Nadia, who is a mother true and through, always worrying and fearing for her daughter and as always portrays her character in the most elegant way possible. I may have picked favorites, but I fell in love with all the cast. They did an excellent job on the show and I hope to see more of them.
The story in Halawet Al Donya is one made of all the emotions: love, hate, happiness, sadness, encouragement, warmth, bitterness, and so much more. I know what a family facing the struggle of cancer would be going through, and this show captured it in a way that wasn't too real but not corny in any way. It did so in a way that would teach people who have no idea what this experience feels like to a family just how precious life is, and serves as an excellent reminder to those who have had this experience. I can say with confidence that this is even better than The Fault in Our Stars (YES I SAID IT). The best part about this show is that it gave us the happy ending we usually never see in drama shows. Amina found true love in Selim, who is also a former cancer patient, and they raise his son together and live happily ever after with all their family and friends.
Overall, this is a drama series that I can say I am happy to have watched, and I usually never say that.
Rating: Average 5/5 - full marks for all of cast, story, and effects.
4. Le A'ala Se'er (لأعلى سعر)
I can call this show a classic drama series. Le A'ala Se'er is all about betrayal, moving on, revenge, jealousy, reliving the past and being stuck in it, and all the things people love in a drama series. The tale of Gamila Makhlouf, a ballerina, who leaves everything behind, her career, her family, and herself, all in the name of love, for a man named Hisham. After she helps Hisham achieve his dream of building a hospital in his name, he cheats on her with her "best friend", Layla, who has been plotting against Gamila since the beginning. All that follows is more betrayal, plots of payback, losing everything, then trying to rebuild one's self from scratch. This is the other show I watch purely based on word of mouth and social media talk.
The story, as somewhat outlined by my calling Le A'ala Se'er a classic drama series, is a very basic one. Girl loves boy. Girl leaves all for boy. Boy betrays girl with best friend. Girl fights back. Girl tries to move on. Best friend betrays boy. Boy runs back to girl. That's how basic this story is. It's every basic person's go to TV show. Usually not my cup of tea, but I watched it because everyone else did.
As for the cast, there are some known faces in the show, including Nelly Karim and Zeina, Gamila and Layla respectfully. I didn't think the acting was all that great, but my favorite has to be without a doubt Nabil El Halafawi, who plays Gamila's father (you may have seen him last year on the hit Ramadan show Wanus). He's my pick for the best actor on the show. His portrayal of his character shows all the qualities anyone needs in a father. Supportive, but knows when you need a wakeup call back to reality, loving, but stern when he needs to teach his kids a lesson, and gentle, but is a fierce protector when it comes to his kids. He's also a great person in general, showing us that being a father doesn't only mean loving your own kids and looking out for them, but he also takes kids that need a father figure under his wing and helps them be the better version of themselves. And he's a great example of striving towards doing what you love and seeking happiness, with him dropping his job as an Engineer and looking to live his life as a musician, despite all the odds and the problems and losing his wife and being forced into distance between him and his kids. Nabil El Halafawi was Makhflouf, and Makhlouf was Nabil, all throughout the show.
As for the effects, there wasn't that much done in my opinion, most of it was gloomy, but there were those cliche parts where they made scenes that had any romance in them glowing and soft, which isn't something I appreciate. So I would say the effects in this show were sub-par.
Overall, it being a basic drama series, it still highlighted some essential facts of life and was entertaining, but I didn't feel a grasp to it like I did other shows.
Rating: Average 2.5/5 - 2.5/5 cast, 2/5 effects, 2.5/5 story.
Well this was long but I hoped it made up for my absence. It's also a bit out of my usual topics since I don't watch Egyptian television that much but I thought it would be refreshing for my Egyptian Readers and interesting for all of you.
As always, leave a comment if you want me to write about a certain topic or if you have any suggestions or critiques here on my blog or on any of my social links that you'll find on the top right. Like the Ask Hue Mann's Facebook page and subscribe to the blog to be told when I post anything new on the blog!
Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one! Hue Mann, over and out!! ;)