Hassan and Marcus

Hassan and Marcus (Arabic: حسن ومرقص) is a 2008 Egyptian comedy-drama film directed by Ramy Imam.

It stars Adel Emam as Boulus/Hassan, Mohamed Emam as Girgis/Emad, Omar El-Sherief as Mahmoud/Marcus and Lebleba as Matilda/Zenat.

Plot
When the lives of Mahmoud, a Muslim sheikh (Omar Sharif) and Boulos, a Christian priest (Adel Emam) are threatened by religious extremists on both sides, the Egyptian government inducts them into a witness protection program that requires them to disguise themselves as the Christian, Marcus Abdel-Shahid, and a Muslim sheikh, Hassan el-Attar, respectively.

When, unwittingly, they move into the same building, a friendship blossoms that must, along with a romance between the protagonists' children, withstand the difficulties of prejudice and social persecution.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The idea of a movie about the differences and similarities in religion may sound like a controversial idea but it paid off well.
 * 2) The film addresses issues of religious extremism, intolerance and sectarian violence, and emphasizes the possibility of friendship and love between members of different religions
 * 3) Great acting from all of the cast, specially Adel Imam and the Late Omar El-Sherief.
 * 4) Despite the movie’s serious topic, it has decent humor such as Marcus being forced to lead Muslims in the mosque despite not being Muslim.
 * 5) The movie teaches a very important lesson about how we should accept the beliefs of others no matter what.
 * 6) Very wholesome moments such as when both families agreed to live together.
 * 7) Heartwarming yet sad ending that shows the awful reality we live in where people will never accept that not all have the same religion.
 * 8) Great pacing despite being over two hours.

The Only Bad Quality
While good, but the movie's plot might be polarizing for some due to its theme being about religion.

Reception
Being the first collaboration between Adel Emam and Omar Sharif, arguably the most prominent actors in Egypt and the Middle East, the movie was a much-anticipated summer blockbuster.

The movie received critical acclaim and is seen as one of the greatest movies in Egypt.

It's proven popular among many people outside the Middle East.

Trivia

 * This is the first page here to be about a Middle Eastern movie as well as the first page about an Egyptian movie.
 * The movie's message proved so controversial that Facebook groups sporting Adel Emam's picture in Coptic garb called for a boycott of his movies, and the resulting emotional distress is reported to have prompted Imam to move from his home in Cairo to a summer house in Porto Marina, a resort on Egypt's northern coast.