Souq El Goma'a in Sayyida Aisha, Khalifa district, is a world of its own full of life lessons. Held every Friday, second-hand goods are sold there—from clothes, shoes, electrical appliances, and spare parts to antiques and rare animals and birds. Its protagonists are examples of the marginalized, led by Sayed Saad (Amr Abdul Gelil), known as Sayed Khartoush, a thug who deals in narcotics, tranquilizers, and smuggled medications. He imposes his control over the market, dictates its grounds, and collects vendor fees which he calls taxes, just like the government does. He is assisted by a group of thugs who collect his take, and he is protected by police sergeant Selim (Mohamed Lotfy), who shares his revenue, in addition to what he extracts from outlaws and draft dodgers or fugitives from justice. Khartoush lives with his mother Afaf (Dalal Abdel Aziz), who runs a small supermarket in their modest home, selling goods through the window—both cash and on credit—to avoid begging, hoping her son Khartoush will abandon his shameful ways. Living with them is his younger brother Mahmoud (Mohamed Ezz), a university student who is romantically involved with his classmate Engy (Sahar El Sayegh). In a stroke of bad luck, she turns out to be the daughter of the new commissioner of the Khalifa police station (Mohamed Ghoneim). Meanwhile, Marwan (Mohamed Ahmed Maher), the son of the assistant minister, loves her unrequitedly; Marwan is addicted to heroin, which he obtains from Khartoush. A feud develops between Mahmoud and Marwan over Engy, landing both of them at the station, where the commissioner takes revenge on Mahmoud and puts him in custody to intimidate him and keep him away from his daughter. Mahmoud suffers at the hands of the inmates in the station cell, decides to drop out of university, breaks up with Engy, and begins selling books at the market. Khartoush was in a romantic relationship with tea seller Ne'ma (Nesreen Amin), who hopes to marry him, encouraged by her mother (Salwa Mohamed Ali), a pasta vendor who lost her left arm after her addict husband pushed her in front of a car and fled. Living with them is her older brother Abdo (Ehab Badr), who has special needs. When Khartoush learns of the black market trade in cancer medications, he contacts the dealer and joins him in smuggling the drugs from hospitals to sell on the black market. He exploits couscous vendor Shaimaa (Noha Saleh) for smuggling, taking advantage of her need for money to help her lover, Mohamed (Mahmoud Hegazy), an ice vendor, so they can get married. Mohamed is a draft dodger who wants to travel abroad on a forged passport to escape Sergeant Selim's blackmail and cover for him. Shaimaa compromises herself with the drug dealer to secure merchandise, earning a profit of up to ten thousand pounds, which she gives to Mohamed for their marriage; however, he uses the money to procure a forged passport and work contract in preparation to travel to the Gulf. Also in the market is El-Wad Farsh (Ahmed Fathi), who sells used shoes and lives without marriage with liver sandwich vendor Nagat (Riham Abdel Ghafour). He exploits her love and desire to marry him by involving her in scams, where she entraps wealthy men while he blackmails and robs them; yet he never fulfills his promise to marry her. When Nagat discovers Farsh's deception, she turns to the corrupt police sergeant Selim, asking him to rid her of Farsh in exchange for becoming his alone. The sergeant agrees and frames Farsh on drug charges, landing him in detention; however, Farsh manages to beat the charges and seeks revenge on Nagat. Engy visits the market and sees the miserable life Mahmoud lives with his family, trying to convince him to return to university and leave the market. His rival Marwan spots him, and a conflict erupts between them once more. A wealthy antique dealer, Malek (Sabry Fawaz), descends upon the market, introduces himself to Khartoush, and requests his help in acquiring smuggled antiques and antiquities, showering him with money. He tricks him into holding onto a Pharaonic statue that is actually a high-explosive bomb, promising him immense wealth. Farsh tries to steal the Pharaonic statue, while Sergeant Selim discovers that Malek is none other than the wanted terrorist Hussein Abdel Wahab. Selim rushes to apprehend him and warn Khartoush, but Malek has already left the market. It is too late: the bomb detonates in the market, killing many and injuring even more. (Souq El Goma'a)
- CategoriesDrama
