The new Egyptian masterwork 'Scheherazade Tell Me a Story'

The African Film Festival in Stockholm has just finished. The Egyptian movie of 2009 “Sheherazade, Tell Me a Story” by Yousry Nasrally was the indisputable favourite of the audience (original title “Ehky ya Scheherazade”). I am absolutely sure that this movie will soon be shown by a commercial theatre here, and will attract large audiences.

Both parts of a young married couple have good careers. The husband is just about to become editor-in-chief of the great newspaper, but he is told that he has a handicap: the TV programs of his wife, about the stories of women, e.g. those who drown in the Mediterranean sea when attempting illegal immigration to Europe, or families who buries a young girl alive because she has transgressed sexual morals.

She obeys her husband’s mild request: No more politics in her programs. Instead ordinary stories by ordinary women should be showed. We will see a handful of these ordinary stories. The TV programs will become even more popular after the exclusion of politics.

The movie is by no means a documentary or a boring propaganda film about injustice against poor women. Even those who are completely lacking interest in gender roles would have much pleasure from this movie, which has also humour and some action.

There are four TV stories. Inter alia the following one about three daughters. Their father had a shop, and he died. According to the law the inheritance should be divided between his brother and his three daughters. But their uncle is a kind man and abstains from his share. Eventually the daughters find out that he uses every income of the shop for opium. When the daughters throw him out, he finds a fat old gangster boss who will supply him with opium in return for marrying one of the daughters. The daughters throw out both of them. But now they realises the need of a man. The male servant was already as a child “employed” by the father and never got any wage. The daughters first make the servant a real part owner of one fourth of the shop. They decide that one of them should marry him, but he himself should choose which one. All three arrange to be alone with him when doing certain work. After a year they discover that he is sleeping with all three and has promised marriage to all three. The oldest daughter orders the others to leave. She cuts down the boy with an axe and while he is still alive and conscious she pours gasoline on him and lightens it. She will spend 15 years in prison for this murder.