We Are the Bus People
Two ordinary Egyptian neighbors are swallowed by the prison system when a minor bus dispute is mistaken for a terrorist case.
Overview
Two ordinary men find themselves in extraordinary circumstances when a misunderstanding leads to their arrest.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- tragicomic
- tense
- mournful
- classic cinema night
- political film discussion
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jaber and Marzouk are swept from a dispute with a bus conductor into a mistaken terrorism arrest, turning institutional incompetence into bitter comedy.
The two protagonists are mistakenly arrested with suspected terrorists and confined in a maximum security jail.
An everyday public-transport altercation escalates into police custody and political imprisonment.
The central duo's comic predicament is embedded in harsh imprisonment and institutional abuse.
Films like We Are the Bus People, and why
The Night of the Sunflowers
shared political imprisonment, institutional abuse, and socially critical drama
The Trial
shared wrongful detention, authoritarian pressure, and morally urgent prison drama
The Death of a Bureaucrat
shared state repression, mistaken accusations, and tragicomic resistance
Movie Details
- Director
- Hussein Kamal
- Release Date
- 1979-10-22
- Runtime
- 135 min
- Rating
- 8.0 / 10 (22)
Cast
- Adel Emam
- Abdel Moneim Madbouly
- Younes Shalaby
- Moshira Ismail
- Aqeila Rateb
- Saeed Abdel Ghani
- Esaad Younes
- Gamal Ismail
- Ibrahim Saafan
- Mazhar Abol Naga
Common questions
- What is We Are the Bus People about?
- Two ordinary Egyptian neighbors are swallowed by the prison system when a minor bus dispute is mistaken for a terrorist case.
- What is We Are the Bus People like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of We Are the Bus People as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is We Are the Bus People violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in We Are the Bus People as mild.
- Which films are like We Are the Bus People?
- Films with a similar feel include The Night of the Sunflowers, The Trial, and The Death of a Bureaucrat.
- How long is We Are the Bus People?
- We Are the Bus People runs 135 minutes.
