It tells the story of a simple Egyptian civil servant, Anis (played by Emad Hamdi), who cannot tolerate the hypocrisy of the Egyptian government (for whom he works at the Ministry of Health) and the illiteracy of the Egyptian public and decides to hide from all the problems in the country by taking up smoking hashish in a shisha, a popular smoking habit in Egypt, to escape from reality.
Anis (who used to work as a teacher) meets with an old student, Ragab (actor Ahmed Ramzy), by chance. Ragab invites him to the small boat in the Nile. And Anis discovers soon enough that he is not the only person who smokes shisha but a bunch of other elite, middle class and low class people are all on the boat. He soon discovers that everyone is smoking to forget the reality and hypocrisy of Egyptian life.
Political background
The film was released during the era of the government of Anwar Al Sadat and was quickly removed from the market because it was seen as a criticism of the Nasser period, when films that did not conform with Nasser's politics and ideology were often suppressed. Anwar al-Sadat did not want to upset the Egyptian people, some of whom still loved and respected Nasser.
The films deals frankly with the issue of drug addiction, as well as the decadence that obtained during the late Nasser era. The film was produced in 1971, and was unsuccessful financially, as it was frequently banned in the Middle East and also in the West (mainly Europe). It only gained acclaim 35 years later. It is still banned in many countries, especially in the Arab world.
The film is now distributed by Founoon and is subtitled in French and English.
