Iskanderija... Lih? (Alexandria... Why?) (1978)

Youssef Chahine directed this drama about lovers struggling to find happiness in Egypt during the chaos of World War II. Yehia (Mohsen Mohiedine) is a teenage boy who is fascinated with the glamour of Hollywood movies, and he escapes into a rich fantasy world to free himself from the horror around him. But as he learns more about the horrors of the Nazi occupation of Europe, it becomes harder for him to ignore life's grim realities, especially after he falls in love with a local girl. Meanwhile, a Jewish woman living nearby becomes involved with a man who is Muslim, and a gay soldier from England has an affair with a wealthy Arab. Iskanderija ... Lih? was followed by two sequels, Hadota Misreya and Iskindiriah Kaman Oue Kaman. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi