Best movies like Return of the Prodigal Son

Adam is the son of a wealthy Egyptian-American family who is studying at UCLA and returns home for a brief vacation. Upon his arrival he meets beautiful reporter Hanane, with whom he begins an intense love affair, and eventually they marry. Trouble arises when Hanane' s journalistic interests lead her to the corrupt business affairs of Adam's parents, who are interested in building an American tourist compound that would allow Americans further control of Egypt's tourist industry, and make them a whole lot richer.

Jamila, an Algerian girl who loves her homeland, joins the nationalist movement to liberate her country from French occupation. Based on the life of Djamila Bouhired, who was arrested and tortured by the French Algerian government, Chahine's first explicitly political film managed to galvanize wide solidarity with the Algerian resistance from across the Arab World, starting in Egypt.

Animated version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about when the King of Siam meets a head strong English school mistress.

A surreal portrait of a Catholic Private School and its hierarchy. A new student must submit to the bizarre rituals of his peers and the expectations of the school's administration by selling chocolates.

When a free-spirited sailor is found murdered, his twin brother, a famous novelist, is the prime suspect. Investigators uncover a possible liaison between the dead sailor and the writer's wife, and also learn that Sayed's successful fictions owed much to the inspiration of his brother Mahmoud's adventurous life. Just as the evidence against the writer seems overwhelming, Mahmoud turns up alive. But why are the twins never seen together...?

"Citizen Ruth" is the story of Ruth Stoops, a woman who nobody even noticed -- until she got pregnant. Now, everyone wants a piece of her. The film is a comedy about one woman caught in the ultimate tug-of-war: a clash of wild, noisy, ridiculous people that rapidly dissolves into a media circus.

David Hare's account of a one-time French freedom fighter who gradually realizes that her post-war life is not meeting her expectations.

Amid the poverty, death, and suffering caused by World War II, 18-year-old Yehia, retreats into a private world of fantasy and longing. Obsessed with Hollywood, he dreams of one-day studying filmmaking in America, but after falling in love and discovering the lies of European occupation, Yehia profoundly reevaluates his identity and allegiances.

The biblical tale of Joseph is told from an Egyptian perspective in this interesting character study. In this film, Joseph is called Ram. Ram, tired of his family's backward superstitious life, and tired of being picked on by his brothers, wants to go to Egypt to study agriculture. His brothers travel with him across Sinai, but then suddenly sell him to Ozir, an Egyptian who works for a Theban military leader, Amihar. Amihar is impressed by Ram's drive and personal charm and so grants Ram some desolate land outside the capital. Ram soon finds himself a pawn in the political and sexual games between Amihar and his wife Simihit, a high priestess of the Cult of Amun.

Georgie is slowly suffocating in a loveless marriage to fishing tycoon Jim Buckridge. Handsome poacher Lu is an irresistible symbol of the excitement she craves. A passionate affair follows that reveals the dark secrets in Lu’s past and forces him to take flight into the blistering heat of the outback. Georgie follows, determined to find him and bring him back.

1950 Cairo, Amin is a simple employee who lives with his family of three, his wife Zahira, son Nabil and daughter Hoda. Amin’s friend Mabrouk convinces Amin to invest his life savings in a project, which he promises, will get him rich. Amin agrees but forgets to take a receipt. Amin suddenly dies and watches on from the after life.

An enthralling look at the relationship between America and the Arab World from an Arab perspective. It tells the story of Yehia, a renowned Egyptian filmmaker whose life has been shaped by a pair of disrupted love affairs, one with an American woman named Ginger, the other with America itself.

Is inner beauty more important than shopping? Can homosexuals read? Does prostitution solve everything? And who is she wearing? Discover the answers to these and other existential questions in Fallen Jewel - a new motion picture brought to you by the creators of the acclaimed Capitol Hill series. Featuring sensational original soundtrack, fierce fashion, plenty of man-candy and vibrant performances, it's the queer pop-art fantasia you've been waiting for your whole life. Waxie Moon, a "burlesque performer for a new century" - NPR, searches for a perfect man between exuberant musical numbers and the unspeakable ordeals of motherhood. Addicted to romance and dressed to kill, Waxie is always ready to fall in love. In the wildly shifting world where genders and genres are fluid, Waxie's adventures include a trip to the underworld, a forbidden love affair in the 1950's, and even online dating!

Ever wonder what it was like to be in the middle east during the Gulf War of the early 90s? Sure, many films and TV shows have portrayed what it was like for the UN forces. This film takes you into the melee from the perspective of Egyptians -- who were sharply divided about the war -- and their daily lives, which, as one sees, form the basis of their foundation for understanding/approaching the war. And it really is these "every day" realities that make up the bulk of the film.

After we last see him in "Alexandria, Why?" Egyptian filmmaker Yehia Mourad is in his thirties, and successful in his work, he has grown distant from his wife and children and suffers a symbolic blockage of the heart while shooting the final scenes of his latest film. After being flown to England for evaluation, it's determined that Yehia must undergo emergency surgery. Fact and fiction blend seamlessly—with healthy doses of cleverly absurdist fantasy—as the film explores the various personalities and forces that have made Yehia (and Youssef Chahine) the man he has become.

Egypt, 1947: in the midst of a cholera outbreak. A washerwoman tries to take care of her family, while at the same time resisting the advances of a charming suitor who's half her age.

An adventure of the hapless Bertie Wooster, a young gentleman about town with a penchant for getting himself into personal difficulties, particularly with women. It is inevitable left to his unflappable manservant Jeeves to provide tidy and elegant rescues.

Malak is a star singer who lives with her mother and her daughter, Loula, in her villa after her divorce. She falls in love with an opportunist called Lam'ey, so her daughter sets out to expose him with the help of her lover, a driver called Nasser, and the director, Ezz-ElDin who deeply loves Malak.

This concise masterpiece began as a commission by French TV for the news series Envoyé spécial. By filming Cairo with his unique sense of artistic digression, Chahine transformed this portrait of a city into the self-portrait of a filmmaker.

Today, few people's clothes attract as much attention as the royal family, but this is not a modern-day paparazzi-inspired obsession. Historian Dr. Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, reveals that it has always been this way. Exploring the royal wardrobes of our kings and queens over the last four hundred years, Lucy shows this isn't just a public fascination, but an important and powerful message from the monarchs. From Elizabeth I to the present Queen Elizabeth II, Lucy explains how the royal wardrobe's significance goes far beyond the cut and color of the clothing. Royal fashion is, and has always been, regarded as a very personal statement to reflect their power over the reign. Most kings and queens have carefully choreographed every aspect of their wardrobe; for those who have not, there have sometimes been calamitous consequences. As much today as in the past, royal fashion is as much about politics as it is about elegant attire.

A reticent young photographer strives to find a normal life working a dead-end job in a mall portrait studio and volunteering as a clean water activist for developing countries. But his dreams are threatened and his mysterious history begins to unravel when an unexpected romance and personal tragedy plunge him into a fight for survival.

Set in 1987 against the backdrop of a hunger strike by the Egyptian film industry, Chahine himself steps in to play Yehia, the famed Egyptian director whose life is chronicled in "Alexandria, Why?" and "An Egyptian Story". Obsessed with Amr, the handsome actor he discovered and cast as his alter-ego in parts one and two of The Alexandria Trilogy, Yehia pressures Amr to star in various film projects that change even as Yehia's perception of the young actor begins to change. He first casts Amr as Hamlet, which the actor deems too demanding for his talents, then as the lead in a musical biopic of demigod Alexander the Great, who founded the city of Alexandria in 332 B.C.

Ragab, a poor sailor, returns home to Alexandria after three years of absence, during which he tried to save money to marry his one true love, Hamedah. But there's trouble on the harbor, and with an old friend.

Based on Tharwat Abaza's short story, 'Shey min al Khawf' takes place in a rural Egyptian village. Atris' reign of terror on the villagers is put to the test when a public act of defiance is carried out by Fu'ada, the object of his affection.

This big-budget historical epic from acclaimed Egyptian director Youssef Chahine features a crazed turn by Patrice Chereau as Napoleon Bonaparte. The film, an Egyptian-French co-production, deals with Napoleon's occupation of Alexandria and its effect on a typical Egyptian family. Michel Piccoli leads the cast as a general in Napoleon's army who tentatively befriends a local poet.

Shehata Effendi is a clerk for a wealthy woman who is in dispute with her husband. Her husband divorced her a third time, so they resort to Shehata to marry her. Then the wealthy wife dies and he inherits her fortune, prompting him to think of marrying his old neighbor Asrar.

Topping the list of 100 Best Egyptian Films, this classic musical melodrama launched the film career of one of Egypt’s greatest singers and composers, Mohamed Abdel Wahhab. Galal Effendi, the son of an impoverished aristocrat, is forced to leave his studies to seek employment. After a short stint as a clerk, however, Galal discovers his musical talents and finds success as a popular singer. Through its story of upward mobility based on merit rather than influence, the film examines the emergence of Egyptian middle-class identity.

In 1990, Moumen Smihi briefly re-located to Cairo in order to work in the shadow of one of the world’s largest commercial film industries. The film that resulted from his Cairo sojuourn is a complex, painterly critique of the Egyptian musical and cinema star system. At the same time, the film shows the divergent states of possibility or despair faced by men and women within a changing Egyptian society. Smihi’s film plays out over thirty years and the events of the Nasserite years and the Palestine / Israel conflict become integral to the narrative. By blending newsreel footage with his own lush cinematography, Smihi creates a complex portrait of contemporary Egyptian society in the post-war years.

Fikria is a singer who's married to Farid ,the gambling addict. When she's traveling by train, she gets in an accident and a peasant treats her. After she returns home,her husband asks her to stay hidden to get the insurance money to pay for his gambling debts.

Hemaidah is a Farmer who hates country life. He hates working in fields and taking care of the animals in his farm. Though unsatisfied with her, he marries Zebeidah, a woman in the same village.

Ahmad is an air-force fighter who lives with his rich father who wants him to marry partner's daughter; but he falls in love with Zainab

Regarded as one of the boldest films of the "liberal" 1970s, this award-winning classic is directed by the great Hussein Kamal and written by the controversial Ihsan Abdel Quoddous and featuring a superb cast. A color saturated melodrama and a profound analysis of seventies society and decadence.

Hamed is a student from Damanhour who joins the University of Alexandria. He goes with his three colleagues to spend an evening in one of the modest nightclubs, and Kahraman, the dancer, draws his attention.

The story deals with an upscale family that is down on its luck. As the butcher Madbouly foots the bills for the entire family, the authoritative Berlanty is the one in charge. When the carpenter Ragab falls for Madbouly's niece Amal, Berlanty insists he finishes his education first.

As Hamdy fights with a fisherman and kills him in front of his daughter, he goes to prison as the fisherman's daughter goes blind. After his release, he tries to atone for his sin by approaching her. They fall in love and get married, but when he finds out that she can regain her sight, he panics.