La sueur des palmiers – Arak el-balah (1998)

Directed by: Radwan El-Kashef | 110 minutes | drama | Actors: Hamdy Ahmed, Fayza Amasaib, Abla Kamel, Abdalla Mahmoud, Mohamed Nagati, Sherihan

The day he passed away, Radwan El-Kashef (1952-2002) was due to fly to Abu Dhabi to attend the premiere of his film ‘Al-Sahir’ (2001). The night before, he’d watched a movie with friends, attended actor Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz’s birthday party, and called some people before going to bed at 3:00 AM. He could not have imagined that the next day his plane would not go to Abu Dhabi, but to his birthplace Sohag – his final resting place and the location where the story of his most acclaimed film ‘Araq Al-Balah’ (1997) takes place. The film, better known in the west under the French title ‘La sueur des palmiers’ (‘palm sweat’), paints a picture of the countryside in southern Egypt, where norms and values ​​are slowly but surely changing. . That change was fueled by the migratory flow of poor workers to the wealthy Arab oil states on the Persian Gulf. The men in the film are promised mountains of gold by a mysterious stranger; he just about forces them to go with him. The women and children are left behind, no idea if they will ever see their loved ones again.

The protagonists in ‘La sueur des palmiers’ live in the middle of the desert, in an oasis. That setting alone gives the film something magical-realistic. Towering palm trees provide shade from the scorching heat of the sun. How this group of nomads (for that is what they originally were) brought here is recounted in retrospect by the black slave girl of the village elder – once a courageous leader who took his people by the hand, now a frail and lame old man who can’t get a word out of his lips. He still enjoys respect, especially from his grandson Achmed, a boy of about fifteen who has been forced to take on a leading role since the men left the village. He refused to be led along with the caravan that enticed the men out of the village, because he didn’t care about wealth. No, he has another dream: one day reach the top of the highest palm tree, to pick the white dates. The juice of the dates is said to harbor special powers and Achmed believes that the magical liquid will do his grandfather’s health a lot of good. Since he is the only (almost) mature and healthy man in the village, the boy’s responsibilities increase by the day. Being the only one who can read and write, he reads the women’s mail and writes their letters to their husbands. In addition, he looks after the children, defends the honor of the women around him, maintains the necessary contacts with neighboring villages and, to top it off, he becomes engaged to the beautiful Salma. These changes do not only have their advantages. Achmed struggles to shoulder his responsibilities and when three of the men return to the village, they are to say the least. not amused with Achmed’s new role. Order must be restored quickly.

‘La sueur des palmiers’ is full of mysticism and symbolism, which makes the film fascinating. At the same time, the film is also very realistic, for example in the way in which the relationships between men and women are outlined. It may not be possible to interpret everything immediately for Westerners, but it really doesn’t have to be. El-Kashef has deliberately opted for a more poetic approach. The filmmaker himself was from the region and is familiar with the local folklore. He turned it into a modern fairy tale and thus gave himself more freedom in the narration. El-Kashef’s admiration for women – not only for the mother, but also for aunts, grandmothers and female slaves – gives his film an extra dimension. The decoration of the film is exotic and warm and the music also contributes to the dreamy setting. Don’t expect conventional drama, but a mythical and colorful tale about the (compared to the big cities) traditional southern Egypt, a forgotten part of this fascinating North African country.