Egyptians Weep and Cheer Nasser Film

By John Lancaster
Washington Post Service

CAIRO - Its protagonist is a brooding loner whose main activity in the film consists of furrowing his brow behind clouds of cigarette smoke.

There is no sex and no violence, save occasional battle scenes from old newsreels.

Its plot comes straight from the history books.

And in Egypt, it is one of the most popular movies in years.

"Nasser 56" is an unabashedly patriotic ode to Gamal Abdel Nasser, the charismatic army officer who led an officers' conspiracy to overthrow King Farouk in 1952 and then ruled Egypt at first from behind the scenes, until he died of a heart attack in September 1970.

The film centers on the fateful summer and fall of 1956, when Colonel Nasser thumbed his nose at the West - and sparked a war with Britain, France and Israel - by nationalizing the Suez Canal in a defiant gesture that is widely considered to be the most glorious in Egypt's modern history.

Since opening last month - on the 40th anniversary of President Nasser's startling announcement that Egypt was taking control of the Suez Canal from the British and French - the film has played to full houses, stirring tears and shouts of "God is great!" from young people, too young to remember but made proud by the sense of patriotism the film evokes.

THE MOVIE has sparked a lively national debate, not only about Colonel Nasser's legacy but also about the dearth of modern-day Egyptian heroes in an era of political corruption and economic malaise.

"There was a big difference between then and now," said Mohammed Hassan, 22, a university student who attended a showing at Tahrir Cinema. "There were big events, there was an occupation, there were wars. Now, there's nothing but a lot of politics."

Saad Ibrahim, a sociology professor at the American University of Cairo, observed: "There is a lot of nostalgia for that period, and this was probably Nasser's greatest moment. There is hunger for the kind of forceful, proud leader that Nasser was. The ones who came after him did not fill his shoes."

Produced by Egypt's state television company on a shoestring budget, the movie avoids any mention of the less pleasant aspects of President Nasser's rule - such as the imprisonment of political opponents in desert concentration camps or his policies that led to Egypt's humiliating defeat by Israel in the sixday 1967 Middle East War.

Some critics have been put off by such mythologizing.

"People remember Abdel Nasser every time prices increase, or Israel is arrogant, or a small Arab country surpasses us on the map, or when the prices of education and private lessons increase, or when they have to sleep on the streets," wrote Adel Hammouda recently in the Egyptian news magazine Rose al Yusef. "This is the secret of the film."

"But Abdel Nasser will not return," Mr. Hammouda continued. "There is no trace of him in those who have followed. We must look forward and insist that life become better."

The movie is sure to enhance the legendary stature of Nasser, a postal clerk 's son who rose to lead the country. The role is played by Ahmed Zaki, an Egyptian heartthrob whose swarthy good looks and soulful demeanor are said to be eerily reminiscent of the late president.

The movie centers on the Suez crisis, precipitated by the decision of the United States and Britain to withdraw an offer to help finance construction of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile. The withdrawal followed an Egyptian arms deal with Communist Czechoslovakia, acting as a front for Moscow. Nasser feels betrayed, the film shows, by the loss of aid for the important Aswan Dam. Desperate for a way to pay for the dam, he mulls the risks of nationalizing the Suez Canal Co., which has operated the canal for its foreign owners since it was opened in 1869.

Nasser is depicted as a solitary figure who agonizes over his dilemma during lonely walks and allnight reveries in his private study. When he finally makes his decision, his closest adviser reacts with horror.

"You're putting your head in the lion's mouth," the aide warns.

NASSER'S reply: "The British lion, its teeth are falling out." But Nasser is nothing if not cautious: He dispatches spies to Cyprus to assess the risk of a British invasion. He issues strict orders to protect foreign workers and their families. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining ship traffic through the canal once the company has been seized.

On the personal side, he is portrayed as a man of humble tastes who always makes time for his children and wife. He berates aides for serving him smoked fish (too fancy) and for suggesting that he order soldiers to dig him a swimming pool. He even refuses to send his mail first class.

Perhaps the most electrifying moment recreates Nasser's nationalization speech of July 26, 1956. An Egyptian management team, assembled in great secrecy, huddles by a radio to listen for a code word in the text of the speech. Then they descend on the company headquarters en masse, announcing Nasser's move to stunned European managers and employees.

"I was sitting in the movie recalling every minute of what happened to me that day," said Mr. Ibrahim, the sociologist. "I was 17 and a half. I was sitting in a restaurant with my older brother. We were eating kebab. The news, the event, just electrified the whole restaurant. Everyone started shouting, 'God is great!' "

Although it was political disapproval by the United States and a veiled military threat by Russia - not Egyptian military prowess - that prevented the alliance of Britain, France and Israel from reversing the seizure of the canal, Egyptians celebrate the nationalization as a great moral victory that established their country's independence after centuries of subjugation by invading and occupying foreign powers.

As the credits rolled at the end of the movie, Sharif Arafa, 19, dabbed his eyes. "It is the history of my country," he said. "When I see it, I feel as if I lived it."

© International Herald Tribune, 1996.

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