The Canadian actor of Egyptian origin, Mina Masoud, is participating in the current cinematic race, through his new movie “In Ezz Al -Dahr”, scheduled to be shown in Egyptian cinemas on June 18.
This film is his first cinematic championship in Egypt after its success globally in the role of “Aladdin” in the famous film produced by Disney. A group of stars, including Iman Al -Assi, Sherine Reda, Bayoumi Fouad, and Jamila Awad, participated in the action championship, while he was directed by Mark Adel.
Identity and belonging
The events of the movie “At Ezz Al -Dahr” deal with the issue of identity through the story of an Egyptian young man who joins one of the most dangerous international mafia gangs, before he decided to return to his country and choose a different path full of challenges and risks. Mina Masoud plays the role of “Hamza”, who finds himself on a complex mission in an atmosphere charged with excitement and action (the movement), with psychological dimensions that highlight his internal struggles.
Iman Al -Assi embodies the character “Sandra”, a client for the mafia account that denies more than one person, using multiple dialects from Lebanese to Syrian and Egyptian, which reflects the multiplicity of its faces in the world of crime.
Mina Masoud indicated in press statements that his attraction to the film stems from the intersection between his real personality and the role of “Hamza”, explaining that the feelings of belonging and nostalgia for the roots were among the most prominent things he touched in this experience, despite the different paths between him and the character.
He said that the film is not just a cinematic experience, but rather carries a message about identity and belonging, and provides a mixture of action and drama with productive standards matching international works.
Mina Masoud has contracted the movie “In Ezz Al -Dahr” since 2019, after his participation in the activities of El Gouna Film Festival in the same year. However, the film faced several postponements over the past years for productive reasons, especially since it was filmed in more than one country, including Egypt, Turkey and a number of European countries, which required complex logistical equipment.
The author of the work, Karim Sorour, commented on his Facebook account that the film went out to light five years after the start of the preparation, indicating that he seeks to provide a different experience from the prevailing pattern in Egyptian cinema, and stressing that the film does not belong to the category of “bullying”, but rather carries a new character that moves away from traditional templates.
From the world to competing with the stars of the nets in Egypt
Mina Masoud is strengthening through “Ezz Al -Dahr” his cinematic presence in the Arab world after global posts that started since 2011, after his appearance in the movie “What Happens Next”, and then participated in a number of projects, including the cartoon series “The 99” (The 99).
Masoud achieved a remarkable start in his artistic career after his participation in the series “Open Heart” in 2015, but the year 2019 formed the most prominent transformation station in his career, when he presented the character “Ethan Hart” in the movie “Strange But True”, and drew the attention of the audience and critics together.
In the same year, he won wide international fame after his embodiment of the character “Aladdin” in the living version of the famous Disney movie, along with the international star Will Smith, which greatly opened the doors of the world.
Among his most prominent roles are the character of Jalaluddin Al -Roumi in the movie “Lamya’s Poem”, and Prince Thomas in the movie “The Royal Treatment”, which was shown on Netflix, which is a contemporary treatment for the classic Cinderella story but from a new and different perspective.
It is expected to be shown during the year 2025 the American romantic movie “I wish you were here”, which revolves around a woman who discovers love in difficult humanitarian conditions after meeting a young man with a serious illness and decided to stand by his side in his last days.
In the same year, Mina Masoud is running his first cinematic experiences in Egypt and the Arab world through the movie “In the Ezz Al -Dahr”, which is shown in the Eid al -Adha film season, in a strong confrontation with a number of window stars such as Karim Abdel Aziz in his movie “The Project X”, and Tamer Hosni with the movie “Restart”, which opens the door to question about the extent of Masoud’s ability to impose himself a strong public competitor in the Arab cinematic market.
From Hollywood to Cairo
Technical critic Mohamed Nabil, in his interview with Al -Jazeera Net, comments that Mina Masoud succeeded in establishing his name globally through his heroism for the movie “Aladdin” alongside the star Will Smith, noting that the huge success of the film gave him a wide audience, both at the international or in the Arab world, specifically in Egypt. However, the absence of similar roles later affected, in his opinion, the continuity of this momentum.
Nabil believes that Masoud’s following works did not achieve the same resonance, pointing out that the movie “In the Ezz Al -Dahr” presents the personality of a gang leader, but he does not expect to achieve great revenues, especially in light of the timing of his show in the Eid al -Adha season, which usually witnesses fierce competition.
He added that the competition this year will be stronger with the presence of large names such as Tamer Hosni and Karim Abdel Aziz, who are stars who achieve high revenues in the Egyptian and Arab market, noting that the staff “in the Ezz Al -Dahr” includes bright names, but without a clear net star.
Nevertheless, he believes that the small number of films shown this season may give the film an opportunity to show a broader display, but the question remains: Can the film be held in the face of strong competition?
For its part, the critic is a wish that Adel is that Mina Masoud’s cinematic experience is still in the process of forming, explaining that despite his participation in several works of Hollywood, he was unable to achieve great public success, which is what he referred to for reasons related to the nature of the roles assigned to him, as well as the context of the same cinematic market.
Amina believes that relying on Masoud as a hero for an Egyptian movie based on being a star coming from Hollywood is a production bet to attract the audience, but it is not enough alone to ensure the success of the film, considering that his performance still carries a degree of repetition and superficiality.
She adds that the Egyptian public is more related to the young faces that grew up within his artistic and social environment, such as Ahmed Malik, Taha Desouki, Issam Omar, Ahmed Ghazi and Hassan Malik, who in a short time managed to build a strong mass base.
Amina concludes that Mina Masoud possesses promising talent signs, but he needs various time and experiences that allow him to mature as an actor able to lead great works and achieve a real presence in Egyptian cinema.