With 50/50 now playing, it feels like the perfect time to revisit some of Egypt’s most entertaining takes on thieves, con artists, and people who probably should have stayed away from anything remotely illegal. From hilariously incompetent criminals to elaborate scams and ambitious heists, Egyptian cinema and TV have given us plenty of stories where one bad decision somehow turns into an entire criminal operation.
So, if 50/50 has you in the mood for a little deception, a questionable plan, and characters who keep making things worse for themselves, here are some Egyptian movies and series to add to your watchlist.
Harameya Fi KG2
A thief suddenly finding himself responsible for a child is already a recipe for chaos. In Harameya Fi KG2, a young thief takes care of his imprisoned friend’s daughter and enrolls her in kindergarten, where he meets and falls for her teacher, a woman from a wealthy family.
As he gets closer to her, his life starts taking a very different direction. His new responsibilities and relationship gradually bring out a softer side of him, pushing him to reconsider his life of stealing. It is part crime comedy, part unlikely romance, and very much a story about a thief discovering that maybe he has other things to worry about besides his next job.
Harameya Fi Thailand
Things get considerably more ambitious in Harameya Fi Thailand. Hima, a struggling electrician, discovers that he has a long-lost brother, Fatin, and quickly realizes that his new family connection could also be useful.
The plan? Get Fatin to recreate an expensive Van Gogh painting so Hima can steal the original and smuggle it to Thailand. Naturally, the scheme does not go exactly as planned, especially once relationships and family complications enter the picture. Because apparently stealing a painting is much easier when everyone involved sticks to the plan.
Ghaby Mino Fih
The title basically gives you a warning: things are not going to go smoothly.
Hani Ramzy stars as Sultan, a kind-hearted but exceptionally clueless thief who wants to turn his life around after falling in love with Samia. Unfortunately, her father gives him just one month to prepare a home before he can marry her.
Enter Dabsh, who pulls Sultan into a series of thefts in an attempt to help him make the money he needs. The problem is that Sultan is, well, Sultan. His lack of criminal competence turns every supposedly simple operation into a comedy of errors.
Tomn Dastet Ashrar
Sometimes you need to get scammed before you realize that maybe crime is not the best career path.
In Tomn Dastet Ashrar, Mayu works with a small gang to scam people until one of his own schemes lands him in serious trouble. After being caught and beaten as punishment, he decides he wants out of the criminal life.
Of course, his former gang has other ideas. Instead of letting Mayu walk away, they suggest one final job. Little does he know the ploy might just be on him this time.
B 100 Wesh
If elaborate scams are more your thing than traditional heists, B 100 Wesh should be on the list.
Sokkar, played by Nelly Karim, is a professional con artist who meets her match in Omar, played by Asser Yassin. After Omar manages to scam her, Sokkar becomes determined to get her money back. What starts as a battle between two rival swindlers eventually turns into an unlikely partnership.
The two realize that their combined skills could make them an even more formidable team, so they join forces for bigger and more ambitious scams. Think schemes, fake identities, constant betrayals, and two people who definitely should not be trusted with your wallet.
Welad Rizk
Four brothers make a promise to leave their life of crime behind someday. Naturally, “someday” becomes complicated when a deal goes wrong.
The older brother decides that they have had enough and wants to walk away from their criminal activities. His three brothers, however, have other plans and choose to continue doing business with a wanted crime lord, dragging the family back into the dangerous world they were supposed to leave behind.
It is a classic crime setup with one major problem: getting out of the family business is considerably harder when your family keeps pulling you back in.
Maklab Haramiya
A heist is only as good as the people planning it, and Maklab Haramiya brings together a particularly entertaining group of criminals.
The film follows a gang of clever thieves with different skills who come together to plan what could be the biggest theft of their lives. With comedy, suspense, and plenty of room for things to go spectacularly wrong, it is the kind of heist story where watching the plan come together is half the fun.
50/50
And finally, the reason for this entire watchlist: 50/50.
The series follows Rania, a law graduate who left her career to focus on her family. Her life takes an unexpected turn when her husband flees to Dubai with his secretary and marries her after his company goes bankrupt, leaving Rania to deal with financial problems and the responsibility of raising her son, Rami.
With few options left, Rania returns to the workforce and finds herself pulled into situations that could take her into the world of scams. The series mixes comedy with crime as she navigates a very different life from the one she originally planned.
With 50/50 now playing, it is a good excuse to revisit the Egyptian movies and series that have made thieves, scammers, and accidental criminals such entertaining characters. Whether you prefer a carefully planned heist, an elaborate con, or a criminal who is spectacularly bad at being a criminal, there is no shortage of Egyptian stories where one questionable decision leads to another.
WE ALSO SAID: Don’t Miss…Egyptian Novels Meet the Screen: The Literary Roots of Iconic Films and Series
