Mallaki Iskandariya

This movie is absolutely amazing, one of the best ones ever, in fact it is the best one ever!! Ahmed Ezz made a fantastic role in this movie, he proved that he is really a good actor & not just a pretty face!! And also Khaled Saleh who made the role of his life & also Mohamed Rageb made a very very good role.

Also Nour & Ghada Adel made the role of their lives, Riham Abdel Gafoor didn't have a real impact on this movie but it was nice to see her anyway.

And Sandra the director did a great job in this one & made it one of the best Egyptian movies ever.

All I can say is; This movie is a piece of ART!!

This is my first film by director Sandra Nashaat a rising female Egyptian director. My kids dragged me to see the movie; and surprise, surprise. I was really impressed by the cinematography, the acting, the directing and the plot twist. The title of the movie "Mallaki Iskandariya" means an Alexandria (Egypt) license plate. It is the story of a young attorney that is spellbound by the young widow of a rich man; accused by his children of murdering him. The head of his law firm refuses the case and he is forced to resign to try and prove her innocence. Very few Egyptian female directors established themselves on the movie seen e.g. Asmaa El-Bakry & Inas Al Degheidy; and Sandra Nashaat has surely put her name amongst them.

Malaki Iskandariya is the first Egyptian thriller in ages, and fortunately it's a well made one.

Malaki Iskandariya tells the story of a young wife ( Ghada Adel ), who's convicted of murdering her older husband ( Khaled Zaki ). Her lawyer ( Ahmed Ezz ) believes she's innocent, and to to find the truth, he must get closer to the son ( Mohamed Ragab ) & daughter ( Riham Abd ElGhafour ), of the murdered husband, as well as to his beautiful secretary ( Nour ).

A good thriller is the one that keeps the audience guessing and thinking, trying to solve the mystery. Malaki Iskandariya is one of those thrillers. It started out slow, but after that it picked up, giving the audience clues and hints along the way.

One of the best things about the movie is that it changed the way I watch Egyptian movies. In the past few years, I was watching the Egyptian movies without paying any attention, I was just waiting for the next joke. That's not the case here. I started watching the movie just like any other Egyptian movie, and then halfway I found out that if I don't pay attention, I won't be able to follow the plot.

The acting was good in the movie. I liked the fact that Sandra ( the director ) mostly chose actresses known for their mediocre performances ( Nour and Ghada Adel ), and gave them important roles. In my opinion, both actresses gave the best performances of their careers, especially Nour.

Sandra's directing was good, but I have to say that she used her 'hip' & 'cool' directing tricks very much. For example, slow motion was used about 15 times in the first 20 minutes, and that is too much. Also the way the camera moved in some scenes really got on my nerves. Anyway, I think Sandra did that to differentiate herself from the other directors.

So, overall I recommend watching Malaki Iskandariya, movies like these are rarely made these days.

What makes this movie really unique is being different; different in its directing, acting, & most of all: its plot. Though the story is simple, its new & full of surprises. The story is about the murder of a rich man & his wife becomes the prime suspect. She seeks help from a handsome lawyer, who is enchanted by her & tries to prove her innocence by all means. Sandra, the director, really shines in this movie & proves that young age was never an obstacle for great talent. She takes hold of all her tools including her actors. Ahmad Ezz establishes himself as a very good actor & not just a pretty face. His acting was so natural & so convincing. Nour was one of the movie's surprises; she was totally different from the image of the sweet girl. Her effort to bring out this character so perfect is obvious in her make up & clothes. As for Khaled Saleh, he continues to amuse us more & more every movie. It was also a very successful step for Muhammad Ragab & Mahmoud Abdel Mogney. Finally, Ghada Adel needed to stop crying for a while so we can judge her acting, still she was kinda good and Reham was typical in the beautiful nice girl. With all this cast & all that action & suspense..this film is worth watching, & i saw it twice !

I think that this film is the best so far! Ahmed Ezz is too cute and he is the thing that made this film to shine! Ghada my favorite actress and Nour, in this film have acted too well and this what makes this movie very nice, and it is the best detective movie in my opinion. When i first saw this movie, i was concentrating to make sure that i understand, and i was also focusing on Ahmed Ezz's handsome looks! The film of Private Alexandria, like i have to say again, is the best movie to exist........(detective stories) So i wish that producers come up with movies like that in Egypt because this movie was very good, thats why i gave Ito a rating 10!!!!!!!!!!!