Egypt’s capital, Cairo (Al-Qahera), when translated into Arabic becomes “The Conqueror”, hinting at centuries of resisting occupation and foreign conquests. But for its 23 million inhabitants, “The Conqueror” can sometimes be unforgiving and overwhelming. Khalid Mansour’s heartwarming feature debut Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo recounts the story of Hassan, one of these 23 million, who is trying to save his rescued dog and best friend Rambo. It is the first Egyptian film to screen at the Venice Film Festival in 12 years, competing at the Orizzonti Extra.
The film is set against the backdrop of a working class neighborhood in Cairo, where Hassan (Essam Omar), a 30-year old security guard, lives with his mother Altaf (Samaa Ibrahim) in an old flat accompanied by a rescued mixed breed Baladi dog. (Baladi if Arabic for local. Stray dogs in Egypt are usually a mix of six breeds, some of them going back to ancient Egypt.)
Hassan and his mother have lived in their flat for years, but are now threatened by the son of the late landlord, Karam (Ahmed Bahaa), a car mechanic and a bully who wants to tear down the house and build a bigger workshop. The plot intensifies when Karam intimidates Hassan in the street, leading Rambo to storm out of the house to defend his best friend and bite Karam in the crotch.
Mansour’s script, co-written with Mohamed El-Hossieny, does not see many differences between Hassan and Rambo; both are stray beings in the harsh streets of Cairo, fighting for survival and for a place in society.
Hassan was abandoned by his father, forced to become the breadwinner from an early age; stuck in a dead-end job at 30, he lost his girlfriend. His only capital are the few people he loves and cares about, his house, and his dog. Meanwhile, Rambo is a Baladi dog, widely regarded in Egypt as unclean and dangerous and so subjected to violence and haphazard animal-control poisoning campaigns, and with even some radical suggestions of “exporting them” to South Korea as food.
Hassan’s character is brilliantly written to symbolize a defeated generation. They grew up trying to find some margin of freedom, emancipation and social justice, but ended up alienated from society amid Egypt’s rapid changes and reforms, governmental or personal, which crush anyone and anything.
This melancholy leads to the second half of the film, where Hassan passionately embarks on a mission to safeguard Rambo, fearing Karam’s deadly vengeance. Despite all the threats, the bond between Hassan and Rambo remains tight. This leads Hassan deep into Cairo’s underworld to find a safe haven for the canine outlaw. Saving Rambo, even if flying him out of the country, means much more than just saving a pet; it opens the door for Hassan to confront the ghosts of his past and the fears of the future.
Any Egyptian watching Seeking Haven for Mr Rambo will feel at home inside Hassan’s middle class house or in outdoors shots of Cairo’s rusty and underdeveloped districts. They are not poverty porn. The house has real warmth and comfort, the busy streets a kind realism lost in many contemporary Egyptian productions. This familiarity can also be seen in the exceptional performances of Essam Omar in the lead role and Samaa Ibrahim as his mother, in their cheerful scenes together.
It’s a bold claim to make, but Cairo is one of the main characters in Mansour’s film. Cinematographer Ahmed Tarek Bayoumi provides non-romanticised wide shots of the city. Wearing a cute little helmet, dog and master navigate the heavy traffic of the vibrant streets on an old Soviet-era motorbike, with Rambo riding in the sidecar, in a scene saluting a peaceful if dysphoric city.
In 1982, veteran Egyptian filmmaker Atef Al-Tayed, a leading figure in the 1980’s neorealist movement, made his masterpiece The Bus Driver, a film that mourned the broken dreams of a generation of middle-class Egyptians, who spent years enduring the austerity of wars in the 1960’s and 1970’s including economic “reforms”. They came back from the front to find all their sacrifices useless, handed on a silver platter to a new wave of nouveau riche, capitalists and opportunists.
Forty years on, Mr. Rambo gently and without too much ado sends a love-hate letter to Cairo, poetically acknowledging the harsh reality of being a middle-class Egyptian, but also portraying the braves souls who are willing to sacrifice to save their loved ones.
Director: Khaled Mansour
Screenplay: Khaled Mansour, Mohamed El-Hossieny
Cast: Essam Omar, Rakeen Saad, Ahmed Bahaa, Samaa Ibrahim
Producers: Rasha Hosny, Mohamed Hefzy
Cinematography: Ahmed Tarek Bayoumi
Editing: Yasser Azmy
Sound: Mohamed Salah, Yahia Mahmoud Elmotnaby
Music: Ahmad Mostafa Zaky
Costume design: Nardine Ihab
Visual Effects: Ayman Al Refaee, Mohamed Omar, Amr Abdallah
World sales: Film Clinic Indie Distribution
Venue: Venice Film Festival (Orizzonti Extra)
In Arabic
102 minutes
