User Reviews

I am free, or "Ana Hura", Is a beautifully shot and lighted motion picture, filmed in 1958- only six years after the officer's revolution in Egypt. The film deals successfully with the shift in Egyptian values and power- from a westernized, culturally occupied state, where the goal was to be as British like as possible- to a fresh national view of the self as liberator.

The narrative is simple and powerful- Lubna Abdel Aziz is a young girl being brought up by her rigid aunt and uncle. Their notions as to how a women should act and what choices she had to take in her life, drive her to rebellion: she refuses marriage and insists on going to college, all that time claiming: "I Am Free!". Her family tries to reason with her but with little success. But as freedom takes its westernized, career-oriented form, our heroin starts feeling a little uneasy- She gets what she wanted - and now what? Now the conflict over "what freedom means" starts bothering her, even in her dreams. I will not give in the ending, and only wish to add that Lubna Abdel Aziz gives a strong, Courageous Performance, and has the most interesting face I've ever seen on the Egyptian screen.

The film is directed by Salah Abu Saif. This film works - You better watch it!

This film is part of a trilogy by Salah Abu Seif about women's empowerment. It takes place in late 1940s / early 1950s urban Egypt, and tells the story of a young woman's search for personal freedom and a fulfilling identity as a young modern Egyptian. Although well acted and beautifully filmed, what is most notable about this film is its overt political agenda. "Ana Hurra" is disparaging of the traditional power dynamic between married men and women in Egyptian society, and sets up uneducated, housebound mothers as a figure of pity and even ridicule. Conversely, the protagonist, played by Lubna Abdel Aziz, finds fulfillment through Western education, Egyptian literature, and eventually, radical political activism. Although there is certainly a love story element to the film, it is by no means the central point. Abdel Aziz's character achieves success on her own terms, and she is in many ways far more empowered than female film protagonists of 1950s American cinema.