The Joy of Watching Voy! Voy! Voy!

Delightfully upbeat, suspenseful, and full of charm, Omar Hilal’s “Voy! Voy! Voy!” is a feel-good crowd-pleaser with a sly undercurrent of social commentary. Egypt’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Academy Awards tackles one of the most fascinating true stories in recent memory. The film revolves around Hassan, a security guard who dreams of escaping the hustle and bustle of Egypt to live abroad. When he learns about a blind football team possibly qualifying for the World Cup, he does the inconceivable. In one last desperate effort to execute a great escape, Hassan fakes it til he makes it. By that, of course, I mean, he pretends to be visually impaired to join the team and leave the country once and for all. It takes an all-encompassing director who fully immerses himself in the story he’s telling to be able to pull off what Omar Hilal did. To get moviegoers to sympathize, let alone to cheer, for a despicable character who does not merit one ounce of compassion is the film’s most impressive feat. A lot of credit has to be given to a staggering performance by Mohamed Farag, whose acting is as agile as his surprising footwork. Bayoumi Fouad as Captain Adel and Nelly Karim as the investigative reporter, Engy, feel intrinsically connected to their characters, but it is the nuanced turn by Hanan Youssef as his mother that truly deserves praise. Whenever she’s on screen, she effortlessly captivates our attention.

Hilal, who also produced and wrote the film, gives character development just as much attention as the calculated beats that move the plot forward. As Hassan navigates the challenge of not blowing his own cover, he begins to develop newfound feelings for Engy. The irony of this tale is that even though Hassan has perfect eyesight, he’s completely blind to the blessings surrounding him. And as he goes through his journey, the metaphorically blind man begins to see. It is thoughtful nuance such as this underlying symbolism that propels the film beyond slapstick entertainment into the realm of meaningful drama.

Part comedy and part sports drama, “Voy! Voy! Voy!” refuses to be boxed into one genre, but at its heart, it’s a crime caper that follows in the footsteps of the great con-artist films of the past, films like George Roy Hill’s “The Sting” and Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can”. In fact, the film plays homage to the latter in a beautiful Saul Bass-inspired title sequence at the very beginning. That said, “Voy! Voy! Voy!” carves its own path and gets the ball rolling forward in its own pace. What makes it so enjoyable to sit through is its unpredictability. At times, it feels like Hilal is playfully dribbling with audience’s expectations before throwing viewers a curveball out of nowhere.

In one beautifully edited montage early on in the film, Hassan and his two best friends meet up with migrant smugglers. As a sketchy smuggler provides absurd instructions of the escape plan, the film cuts to snippets envisioning Hassan within that journey. It involves hiding in a tomato truck, getting sprinkled with coffee, and meeting a pirate called Sharhabil to avoid detection, but it’s the witty back and forth dialogue between the characters in that scene that really amps up the humour. One of the film’s strongpoints is its portrayal of scenes that would normally be extremely hard to watch in a very light-hearted manner. This is precisely what makes the film so Egyptian; it perfectly encapsulates how historically Egyptians have always dealt with hardship through humour. Not only that, but when they’re faced with a problem, Egyptians come up with the most creative, and in this case outrageous, solutions.

As of late, Egyptian cinema has suffered greatly from an onslaught of action-packed propaganda films, but during the past few years, a new generation of filmmakers have emerged to breathe life into the landscape of Egyptian cinema. New filmmakers making the switch from advertising to film, such as Omar Hilal and his contemporaries, are making the rounds at international film festivals, often snagging the most prestigious awards in their respective categories. “Voy! Voy! Voy!” doesn’t deviate much from mainstream commercial cinema, but it doesn’t really need to. It follows a distinct formula that delivers the goods without sacrificing depth and meaning.

It explores complex ethical dilemmas where characters must make difficult moral choices. Tackling a theme as convoluted as the ethical implications of illegal immigration is no easy task, but the film knows better not to take a stand for or against it. Instead, it chooses to explore the characters and the motivation behind their actions and choices. If it passes any judgment, it’s on the characters themselves and how they can possibly stoop so low, as opposed to the idea of immigration as a whole. As the narrative unfolds, viewers are confronted with the harsh realities faced by individuals navigating a world fraught with moral ambiguity. The film skillfully avoids reducing the complexities of illegal immigration to mere black-and-white perspectives, opting instead to present a nuanced portrayal that encourages audiences to question their own preconceptions. Through shameful characters, the movie challenges viewers to reflect on the intricate interplay of socio-economic factors, personal motivations, and the consequences of choices in a morally complex landscape.

I do wonder if some of the humor would get lost in translation, but there’s something extremely universal about the film that transcends linguistic barriers. The universal appeal lies in its ability to tap into fundamental aspects of the human experience, be it love, friendship, or the absurdities of everyday life. Clocking in at two hours, I must admit, the film does a fairly good job of giving each character his due, especially with a star-studded ensemble as big as this one. That said, some of the choices made by one character in particular, Captain Adel, may feel slightly rushed. Towards the end of the film, the reasoning behind his actions felt a bit hurried and his character transformation could have benefitted from some minor additional runtime. Still, it is important to acknowledge the delicate balance the filmmakers must strike in accommodating numerous plotlines within its runtime.

“Voy! Voy! Voy!” is the type of film you stumble upon on TV in a few decades, and remark “you know what they really don’t make them like they used to”. But don’t wait that long to discover this Egyptian gem. In fact, I would recommend seeing this film with an audience. After all, there's a unique joy in sharing the absurdness of this plot with a crowd, where the collective response amplifies the humor and creates an infectious energy. In a world increasingly dominated by individual screens, the experience of witnessing a dramedy like "Voy! Voy! Voy!" in a bustling theatre rekindles the magic of shared laughter and serves as a reminder that some cinematic pleasures are best enjoyed in the company of a lively audience. Roger Ebert used to say that when we go to the movies, and the film really works, we momentarily forget about the outside world. In that respect, “Voy! Voy! Voy!” was quite the great escape, both literally and figuratively.

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