Fair warning: this article might include some spoilers, read at your own risk.
The movie, directed by Mohamed Amin, was released on the 25th of August,2021. 200 Geneh is experimenting with a new type of storytelling, instead of having one story and one plot, there are 8 intermingled plots. I went to the third showing of the movie, and it was a full house, which is odd given the ongoing pandemic. The excitement was apparent in the room, as everyone was getting ready to see their favorite stars on screen…
Structure
The movie has been a completely different experience, like none I have seen before. The structure of the movie itself was new. It was a direct critique of the concept of “Money buys happiness” and “More money, fewer problems.” The film was separated into 8 stories, each with small,10 mins scenes. It followed a 200 EGP bill, that a woman got as a pension, and printed her name on it by mistake, the woman ends up losing the 200 EGP bill, and it begins taking its rounds, as any kind of bill does.
Photo Via: Akhbary
The key scene was separated by scenes with different hands exchanging the 200 EGP bill, which adds to both the structure and the fast pace of the film. Although the movie was a bit quick-paced, it ultimately came back full circle in a neat little bow. The pace was however confusing at times, even though the transitions were well thought out.
Plot and Themes
Beyond the moral that the movie is trying to get to, not letting money control your life, the plot itself was well structured. Each of the stories stood on its own but was linked beautifully in the grand scheme of things.
The running theme of the movie was despair, caused by lack of money, bad marriages, demeaning jobs, or keeping up a certain image, amongst other reasons. There was also a lot of focus on how characters perceived each other, that was very obvious by the use of inner monologues in more than one scene.
Each character having their own varying level of struggle, which may be a little too melodramatic at times. From the struggling parent to the overworked one, to the mother who must work a demeaning job to support her child, to the struggling woman on pension, and many more. While each character wishes for a better life, they all struggle. The theme of struggling parents was a bit overused but served the purpose of the movie well.
Photo Via: Cairo 24
Of course, there was a theme of betrayal in there, portrayed through a greedy friend who had an affair with his best friend’s wife. That greedy friend is the one who took the 200 EGP from his mother and started this whole chain of events. He is the reason the mother gets her 200 EGP note back after his best friend murders him and his cheating wife for their betrayal, and the police return his belongings to his mother.
The mother then sees her name stamped on the banknote and bellows over the loss of her son, which ends the plot, bringing us back full circle. This is the umbrella plot of sorts, and all the other plots fell under that, in support of it. In essence, money changes a person, that’s a constant idea in the film. The film tries to explore each person’s relationship with money through the traveling 200 EGP bill, and it succeeds in doing so.
The Cast
The casting of the movie is one of its strongest suits, although a tad overwhelming. The movie has in total a whopping 52 cast members, including several big names that have never appeared in a movie together. Names like, Esaad Younis, who hadn’t appeared on screen since 2010.
Other big names appeared such as Sabreen, Ahmed el Sakka, Layla Elwi, Hany Ramzy, Khaled EL Sawi, Mai Selim, Ahmed Salah Al-Saidani, and Ali Al-Tayeb. As well as; Ismail Fargahli, Seliman Eid , Mahmoud El- Bezzawi, Malak Koura, Ahmed Adam, Ahmed Risk and of course, Bayoumi Fouad.
Photo Via: Manqoul
The movie was truly crowded with so many iconic names, it was a surprise whenever anyone came on screen. Especially Bayoumi Fouad, when he appeared after the final resolution of the plot, as an audience-conscious character. That scene, however, felt misplaced, the movie could’ve easily ended with the plot resolving itself.
Overall, the movie was well made in my opinion. Albeit different, it combined all the aspects we like to see in an Egyptian movie. The movie, as was stated at the end, was an experimental work, and a whole new face to Egyptian drama, which we should all be excited about.
It’s a promising start to a new genre, I would give it a solid 6/10.
