خلاويص

Hassan Ali Hegazi (Ahmed Eid) is a widowed taxi driver who lives with his five-year-old son, Ali (Adam Wahdan), in a decrepit house alongside his elderly parents. While young Ali is playing hide-and-seek with his grandfather Ali Hegazi (Mohamed Rihan), an enforcement squad arrives to arrest "Ali Hassan Ali Hegazi," who was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison for unlawful assembly, resisting authorities, and unauthorized possession of an automatic weapon. Seeing only a young child before them, the officers assume the grandfather is harboring the wanted convict. They decide to arrest the child, both to pressure the family and to process their paperwork. The child is delivered to the commissioner of Nasr City police station (Ismail Farghali), who categorically rejects the incident, refuses to transfer him to prison, and orders that his family be contacted so they can retrieve him. The taxi driver rushes to search for his son and meets young lawyer Salma Khalil (Ayten Amer), who sympathizes with him. Learning that the child is at Nasr City police station being prepared for transfer to the prison authority, they rush there. Meanwhile, Tawfiq Bey (Ahmed Fouad Selim), head of the decision-makers' support agency, is frustrated by misleading reports issued by accredited polling centers claiming public satisfaction with government performance has reached 95%. Disapproving of talk shows that constantly praise the government, he leans into social media, which steers public opinion with trending hashtags and distracts the public from government mistakes. Following a train-bus collision that killed dozens and sparked calls for the government's resignation, Tawfiq Bey is tasked with diverting public outrage away from the train accident. Having found no effective alternative, a godsend opportunity arises through a hashtag launched by lawyer Salma: "Where Is Ali?", which trends within 10 minutes. He immediately calls the Nasr City police commissioner and instructs him to transfer the child to prison to keep the hashtag alive. The lawyer agrees with the driver to take advantage of the regulation allowing incarcerated relatives to be held together; she accuses him of armed robbery, and he confesses, allowing him to be imprisoned alongside his young son Ali. Instructions arrive to the prison warden (Sami Maghawri) to treat the child and the driver well, and the warden asks inmate Tolba (Mohsen Mansour) to look after both of them. TV host Amgad Sadek (Tariq Abdulaziz) takes an odd stance, attempting to justify the Ministry of Interior's actions toward the child by casting doubt on whether he is indeed a child, alleging he might be a hardened criminal dwarf. However, lawyer Salma secures the chief judge's approval for an urgent hearing before the same bench so the judge can see the accused in person. The prison administration receives orders to obstruct the child's arrival at court so the case will be adjourned and the charade will continue. Determined to keep public interest ignited, the lawyer arranges to circulate photos of the imprisoned child by filing a request to let him sit for his KG2 exam. The media covers the child widely, reigniting public outrage. Forced to present the child before the court, Judge Maher Selim dismisses all charges against the child due to their implausibility. Tawfiq Bey is reprimanded for allowing the department's error to persist for 30 days before correction. Attempting to justify his position, Tawfiq Bey frames the driver as the actual convict, claiming the Ministry of Interior was pressuring him. They offer the driver financial incentives and promise a medical pardon, assuring him the sentence will be two years with release after six months. Hassan agrees to imprisonment to secure the future of his parents and son. However, Major Tarek (Mohamed Hatem), Tawfiq Bey's nephew, objects. The court sentences Hassan to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment, and his desperate cries are of no avail. Rejecting the verdict, Major Tarek decides to confront his uncle, who is summoned by higher authorities, reprimanded for his actions and abuse of power in issuing orders, and placed on indefinite leave. Major Tarek decides to help the driver and testify in his favor against his uncle. While being transferred to prison handcuffed to weapons dealer Sayed El Tayeb (Mohamed Ahmed), the convict's associates ambush the security escort using automatic rifles, freeing El Tayeb along with the driver, who is subsequently accused of attacking the guard escort. El Tayeb advises Hassan to contact the forger El Nims (Hassan El Adl) to obtain visas and passports for him and his son to flee the country. However, El Tayeb and his men are arrested, leading authorities to El Nims, who advises the driver to go to boss Kimo (Mohamed Farouk Sheiba). Kimo demands 80,000 Egyptian pounds to smuggle him and his son aboard an illegal migration boat. Hassan sells his taxi and borrows the rest. Before boarding the boat, Salma and Major Tarek catch up with him, advising him to stay in Egypt while promising to stand by his side and testify with him against his uncle, Tawfiq Bey.

• CategoriesComedy