Kamal Hussein’s Thartharah fawqa al-Nil (Adrift on the Nile, 1971) is the film adaptation of the 1966 novel by Naguib Mahfouz. The film was released in 1971, four years after the Six-day War and a year after the death of Gamel Abdel Nasser, the second president of Egypt and the man behind the Revolution of 1952. The movie stars some of the most iconic actors of the time including Emad Hamdy, Ahmed Ramz and Adel Adham. The film focusses primarily on the protagonist Anis, a civil servant, and his experiences with a group of men who have created a Utopia of sorts aboard a houseboat on the river Nile.
The film addresses several issues that were dominant during the Nasserite Era such as corruption and political hypocrisy. It also portrays the intellectual upper middle class as a group of uncaring and disillusioned individuals who indulge in a drug-induced form of escapism, while the working lower class suffers. Other minor themes such as infidelity, immorality and injustice are also shown in a style that is subtle yet hard-hitting. The film tells the story of a society that is in danger of collapsing. The issues addressed in the movie are, sadly, just as rampant today as they were in the Egypt of the 1960s.
This essay will focus on three major subjects: What makes the characters adopt this unhealthy lifestyle of escapism, the effect of their lifestyle on the people around them and how the film’s message continues to relate to our society today.
The film begins with a long shot of the busy streets of Cairo where Anis is lost in the crowd. A voiceover lets us know his thoughts as he wanders the streets and we realize at once that this man has questions that remain unanswered even now, decades later. He seems rather lost in the hustle and bustle of the city, finding solace by smoking some hash on the banks of the Nile. He is late for work and ends up writing a report while fully intoxicated, not noticing that his pen has run out of ink. His boss reprimands him and orders him to face an inquiry.
We next find Anis on the bank of the Nile again. A Cadillac drives up and the driver is Ragab, a popular actor. On hearing that Anis has no family to return to, he offers to take him to ‘The Kingdom’. “It’s another world”, he tells Anis. Ragab’s kingdom is his houseboat, occupied by three prominent and rich men: a lawyer, a critic and a successful storywriter. These four men spend most of their time smoking hash and enjoying themselves. They also use their position in society to help each other out. Anis is happily welcomed into their fold and is even appointed the ‘Minister of High’ in the Kingdom.
As the film progresses we are introduced to the women. A cheating housewife with a skewed sense of morality, a working class woman who tries to fit in and an aspiring actress who is smitten with their hedonistic lifestyle. Slowly, they sink further and further into their fantasy world until the lines between fantasy and reality blur and fade. Anis, however, remains a silent observer of their depraved and sexually immoral lifestyle. He smokes with them but does not agree or disagree with their opinions and choices. While he lives in denial, in his mind he genuinely worries about the state of his country.
A joyride around town turns into a tragic nightmare when they run over a working class woman (who they refer to as a ‘peasant’). In the following sequence we realize how far our characters have sunk. The hit and run is treated as yet another frivolous joke and for the first time Anis begins to show signs of disquiet.
The film takes a turn when Samara, an intelligent journalist takes an active interest in the group. Her brother serves in the army and through her eyes we see the harsh reality of the situation in Egypt. She asks valid questions about their lawless existence. She also takes Anis to see the war-torn frontline, an act that gradually forces Anis to come to terms with the fault in their lifestyle. He leaves the houseboat, a changed man. The film ends with him back on the streets of Cairo, this time with a clear message: the people had to wake up and realize what was going on in the country.
Set during the Nasserite Era, the film establishes early on the discontent that was stirring in the minds of people, through the voiceover thoughts of our protagonist Anis. Egypt during the Nasserite Era was not without flaws. According to Meir Hatina in ‘Rethinking Nasserism: Revolution and historical Memory in Modern Egypt’,
Ultimately the revolution proved to be a deception led by a dictator who sought personal prestige in the national pantheon at the expense of the interest of the Egyptian people.
Anis, an employee of the Ministry of Health, shows us that the media’s attempts to address the troubles of the people are in vain. For example, Anis imagines his boss’ face covered in stamps and signatures, implying that the man has no value beyond the reports he writes. The reports are a mockery that ultimately yield no results. Anis represents all the intellectual men who had backed the revolution, but were now left disappointed. When a drugged Anis writes his report, unaware that his pen is out of ink, somber music plays in the background. It triggers an instinctive sympathy for this character, who had probably joined the Ministry of Health genuinely believing he could make a difference. When they appoint Anis as the ‘Minister of High’ the scene is interspersed with flashbacks to the revolution. Hussein shows the contrast between the shouts of the men during the revolt and the shouts of the drug-addled men in the Kingdom. The camera captures Anis sitting in the so-called throne of the kingdom. The full frontal shot is heart-wrenchingly poignant making the viewer feel like a voyeur.
Emad Hamdy conveys the disillusionment and defeat in Anis’ eyes with so much soul that we are transported to the room with him. His sorrow is palpable and invokes our deepest sympathy.
Similarly, the actor Ragab. looks genuinely sad when Sana, the aspiring actress, fails to recognize his roles in theatrical productions. They are the true representation of his talent and yet they hold no value to the world. Another beautiful shot depicts Ragab’s role in a movie. He is dressed as a female dancer and we see him for what he really is: a talented actor who is forced to play commercially successful but meaningless roles. The sequence is shot in color, in contrast to the rest of the movie and Ragab’s world outside the houseboat appears both fragile and unreal to the viewer.
The journalist mentions that what they write would not make a lot of difference, because the public was set in its ways. To its credit, the film does not turn these characters into antagonists. Instead it offers us a reasonable explanation for their behavior. They were once important participants in the revolution. Now that they’ve served their purpose, the government has discarded them. Corruption is rampant and the people of Egypt are now victims of a hypocritical government. Knowing that their intervention would have no effect on the way things are, these men choose to live in denial instead.
They indulge in escapism but it isn’t out of frivolity. It is entirely possible that the Kingdom is more lucid and real to them than the corrupt reality of Egypt. As Yi Fi Tuan writes in his book, ‘Escapism’,
Participation in a ritual is participation in something serious and real; it is escape from the banality and opaqueness of life into an event that clarifies life and yet preserves a sense of mystery.
However, the film does not romanticize their choices. It’s shown as a decadent, unappealing and self-destructive lifestyle. When Ragab introduces his friends to Anis, he uses elaborate flattery to describe each of them. But the camera uses a tracking shot of a hash pipe being passed around. The shot nullifies Ragab’s words and lets us know these men are merely drug addicts who have lost all value. When the group leaves the houseboat, drugged and disoriented, the shaky camerawork sets the tone of the scene. They are all completely intoxicated and unaware of their actions. They disrespect Egypt’s cultural heritage and insult the pharaohs. But an aerial shot of the tomb, with a massive statue that makes our characters seem minuscule, shows how small and insignificant their words and actions are, in comparison to the towering glory of the Egyptian culture. Ultimately the film lets us know that their way of life is frivolous and directionless. They are important men, with the potential to make a difference who decide to squander away their intellect instead.
The film does not stop with merely condemning their way of life. The effect of their apathy is shown in tragic detail. The female worker they run over, is shown as a law abiding young mother, praying for a child. She serves as a personification of the entire working class, a victim of the upper middleclass’ apathy and lack of interest. Ultimately, despite no fault of hers, she is only served injustice.
Similarly, Samara’s brother tells us the harsh reality of war, fought for a country that doesn’t not care about its soldiers or their cause. He criticizes the cultural deterioration in Egypt and the way it distracts the people from the real issues that were destroying the country. Although the story is set before the war, Mahfouz in his book offered an almost prophetic insight into the effect of such a war.
History shows us that he was right. The then president, Gamel Abdel Nasser had turned into an autocratic dictator and his rash decision to nationalize the Suez Canal, a decision that was taken without any proper military or political consultation, resulted in Egypt suffering a crushing defeat in the hands of the Israeli Armed Forces during the Six Day War of 1967.
In the end, the film gives up on our characters as a lost cause. Despite Anis’ desperate cries for them to change their ways, the members of the Kingdom refuse to turn themselves in. In a climactic scene, Abdou, the hash supplier and caretaker of the boat, unties the boat from the bank letting it drift away on the Nile, symbolizing that their last link to morality has been severed. They are now, truly adrift on the Nile, no longer bound to the real world.
However, Anis stands out from the rest, in that he is willing to do his part in bringing about the changes required. The scene in which Anis visits the war torn frontline with Samara is particularly hard-hitting. He sees the destruction around him and we see that the violence and destruction has finally sobered him up for good. He screams out for the people to wake up as he runs through the busy streets of Cairo. The same man who was dubbed as ‘half crazy, half dead’ is now a messenger of hope and change. A change that is clearly welcomed by many, evidenced by the crowd that follows him.
Mahfouz’ story is timeless. Escapism is just as prevalent today, albeit in different forms, as it is in the movie. The upper middle class can afford to escape the realities of the world through social media, virtual reality, travel and countless other medium. Today, sadly, the younger generation is just as apathetical to current affairs and the political bureaucracy in the country. Injustice and corruption get fewer likes and retweets than fashion trends and cheating scandals. This is the era of Social Media and Virtual Reality. TVs, websites and magazines shamelessly encourage and advertise a selfish, narcissistic lifestyle. They encourage self-fulfillment and self-love. Society is no longer a unit working for the greater good of the nation. Instead we are all indifferent individuals adrift on our own ignorance. Some social critics suggest that governments intentionally propagate escapism as a form of distraction. With more people involved in living out their fantasies online, the number of people taking an active interest in the affairs of the country has declined. Criminal acts and social injustices are reduced to twenty word headlines, read over a sip of coffee and forgotten with the next. Priorities are skewed, with women ranking lower than animals in some societies. Any voice of rebellion is systematically destroyed while the masses remain blissfully oblivious. Meanwhile, the working class slaves for its survival, perhaps with the hope that the bureaucrats are working to make their life easier. They dream of a better nation for their children, hoping that the leaders they elect would someday bring about a change for the better. One wonders, how many of these hopes are in vain.
Like the members of the kingdom, we are also in danger of severing our last link to humanity and social progress. Unless we, like Anis, realize the need to wake up, our society, as we know it, may soon cease to exist.
Works Cited
Adrift on the Nile = Thartharah Fawq Al-Nil. Dir. Hussein Kamal. 1971.
Hatina, Meir. "History, Politics, and Collective Memory." Rethinking Nasserism: Revolution and Historical Memory in Modern Egypt. N.p.: U of Florida, 2004. 100-03. Print.
Tuan, Yi-fu. "Escape to the Real and Lucid." Escapism. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins UP, 1998. 23. Print.
Hossam, Hessen. "Egypt's Cinematic Gems: Adrift on the Nile." Web log post. Mada Masr. N.p., 31 Jan. 2015. Web. 2 Sept. 2016. <http://www.madamasr.com/sections/culture/egypts-cinematic-gems-adrift-nile>.
