FILM critics in Egypt are widely divided on the new film Ibn El-Konsol (Son of the Counsellor), starring Ahmed el-Sakka and Ghada Adel. Some critics describe the film as good in terms of direction technique and script, while others claim that it offered its leading actor the opportunity to rediscover his acting talent. But Ibn El-Konsol could be an act of deception, its victim is the audience and in particular the leading actor's fans. The script is full of funny situations and childish sub-plots, which should be inevitably booed by the audience. Despite their harsh criticism of scriptwriter Ayman Bahgat Kamar, grumpy film critics are paying tribute to Ahmed el-Sakka, who "did his best to master his role and convince his fans of his sincere and unaffected acting". The film is about a counterfeiter, nicknamed el-Konsol (Khaled Saleh), imprisoned for several crimes. Essam (Ahmed el-Sakka), the son of one of his victims, decides to avenge himself, when el-Konsol is released. The ex-prisoner is convinced that he is Essam's biological father, since he had a relationship with a whore about 30 years ago. El-Konsol agrees to live with Essam, who embraces radical Muslim ideas and becomes a member of a fundamentalist group. Funny situations occur when the ex-prisoner invites a girl (Ghada Adel) to spend the night with him, while his alleged son is sleeping in the next room. Moreover, the counterfeiter wants to persuade his fundamentalist son to help him with his criminal activities, as he (the father) is penniless and hopes to make money quickly and easily by distributing forged banknotes. The film, punctuated by the comic relationship between a father and his alleged son, has a naïve and boring end; everybody comes clean, and the mystery, which consumed the film, is solved. Perhaps Ahmed el-Sakka manages to reconcile himself with his audience, counting on his acting talent to regain his popularity in a season brimming with box office hits. Film director Amru Arafa's clever technique must have distracted the audience's attention from naïve situations created by scriptwriter Ayman Bahgat Kamar. The film director also deserves credit for his choice of the three leading actors, Ahmed el-Sakka, Ghada Adel and Khaled Saleh. In several scenes, the trio competes in front of the camera, each trying to upstage the others. Leading cameraman Mohssen Mohamed entertains the audience with beautiful landscapes and scenes in the Mediterranean City of Alexandria. Perhaps el-Sakka was so keen to star in Ibn El-Konsol, a light comedy, when he realised that his fans found it unbearable to see him in more action films, his shirt stained with the blood of his victims and his own. It could also be argued that el-Sakka has nothing new to offer. Chasing cars, jumping on walls and high-rises and avoiding enemy bullets were main features in his previous films like Ibrahim El-Abiyad and The Dealer.
