Overview
A filmmaker's heart surgery becomes a journey through his past, revealing the struggles of his life and dreams.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Dense
- Violence
- Mild
- introspective
- surreal
- melancholic
- arthouse film night
- arab cinema retrospective
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a highly inventive, emotionally resonant, and politically layered work of autobiographical Egyptian cinema.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Yehia’s old self is accused of attempting to murder his new self during a metaphoric trial.
The protagonist’s life is narrated alongside the Egyptian revolution and its social consequences.
Yehia’s constant need for success and the influence of the American Dream shape his identity and relationships.
The story begins during the filmmaker’s heart surgery and transforms the medical crisis into an imaginative inquiry into selfhood.
Films like An Egyptian Story, and why
8½
metafictional autobiographical drama using theatrical and surreal devices to examine artistic identity and personal history
The Silence of the Palace
autobiographical filmmaker portrait blending memory, self-judgment, and national history with stylized drama
The Night of Counting the Years
politically charged Egyptian drama connecting private lives to revolutionary social change and conflicted identity
Movie Details
- Director
- Youssef Chahine
- Release Date
- 1982-09-27
- Runtime
- 120 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (14)
Cast
- Nour El-Sherif
- Yousra
- Soheir El-Bably
- Magda El Khatib
- Mahmood Al-Meleji
- Tawfiq Al-Deqen
- Laila Hamada
- Mohamed Mounir
- Mahmoud El Gendy
- Abdelaziz Makhyoun
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is An Egyptian Story about?
- A filmmaker undergoing heart surgery confronts his childhood self in an allegorical trial that turns memory, ambition, and Egyptian history into a reckoning over identity.
- What is An Egyptian Story like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of An Egyptian Story as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as dense.
- Is An Egyptian Story violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in An Egyptian Story as mild.
- What did critics think of An Egyptian Story?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a highly inventive, emotionally resonant, and politically layered work of autobiographical Egyptian cinema.
- Which films are like An Egyptian Story?
- Films with a similar feel include 8½, The Silence of the Palace, and The Night of Counting the Years.
- How long is An Egyptian Story?
- An Egyptian Story runs 120 minutes.
- Where can I watch An Egyptian Story?
- In United States, An Egyptian Story streams on Criterion Channel.
