‘El Noss’ Revives a Century-Old Memoir

 Popyrus|Cinema&Art

El Noss: Ahmed Amin’s Ramadan Masterpiece Brings 1920s Cairo to Life

El Noss series poster

Among the works shown in the Ramadan 2025 series race is the series "El Noss" starring Ahmed Amin, which is based on a book titled "Memoirs of a Pickpocket" by journalist Ayman Othman, a researcher specializing in Egyptian journalistic heritage.

Artist Ahmed Amin plays the role of "Abdel Aziz El Noss", a repentant pickpocket who decides to repent from criminal activity. Then he takes a new path in resisting the British occupier and forms a team of highly skilled pickpockets to carry out operations against the occupier until his fame spreads. Popular resistance movements adopted him, which caused harm to the British ruler, so he decided to get rid of him. He is joined in the series by Asmaa Abu Al-Yazid, Sedki Sakhr, and Hamza Al-Aili, and the series is written by a writing workshop and directed by Hossam Ali.

A Glimpse into 1920s Egyptian Society

In the memoirs and the series, we see a glimpse of the society of the twenties, and the smell of the popular neighborhoods from 100 years ago. As stated on their cover, the memoirs are “a critical, humorous story that gives you a picture of the morals, customs, tricks, and methods of pickpockets.” The story is told by its hero, the famous pickpocket, Abdel Aziz El Noss, to the owner of the “Lisan Al-Shaab” newspaper (The People's Tongue), founded by Hosni Youssef, and April 30, 1924, was the date of its appearance, who published it.

Exploring Old Cairo

The series “El Noss” takes us, like the memoirs, to many ancient worlds and places in the neighborhoods of old Cairo during Abdel Aziz El Noss’s journey between “Al-Dahdira,” “Madbah Al-Inglizi,” and “Al-Silsila,” and places that have changed now. We will also learn through it the tricks of pickpockets and their behavior within their society, in addition to searching for many Egyptian colloquial terms and phrases, most of which have disappeared and are no longer used, so that these memoirs become a written document, and the series becomes a visual document of the twenties, which has passed nearly 100 years ago.

The Role of Journalism in the 1920s

Journalist Ayman Othman focused in his book on the content of newspapers that were interested in publishing topics of crimes, which were abundant during this period, according to his description. For example, Al-Dunia Al-Musawwara magazine was interested in journalistic investigations into crimes, including pickpocketing, since its first issue in May 1929. On May 29, 1929, it published an investigation entitled "The Biggest Pickpocket in Egypt", and the cover of the issue featured a picture of the pickpocket Muhammad Fahmy Al-Darstawi, known as "Al-Khafa", and Bayram Al-Tunsi wrote an article entitled "God's Curse" On the governor" about an actual situation that happened to him when he was pickpocketed.

Fact or Fiction? The Mystery of El Noss

The writer Hosni Youssef presented these memoirs and attributed them to Abdel Aziz El Noss; thus, he portrays to us that he is a real person. Still, Ayman Othman went to another idea, was "El Noss" really a real person, or was it inspired by the writer's imagination, citing the dedication that Hosni Youssef wrote to the great writer Tawfiq Al-Hakim in one of the editions of "Memoirs of a Pickpocket", and he said "To the prince of Banan, the brilliant writer, Professor Tawfiq Bey Al-Hakim, I am honored to dedicate my story", issued in November 1938. Othman points out that the word "my story" puts us before the possibility that Hosni Youssef formulated the memoirs inspired by his imagination after consulting the newspaper archives available at that time about pickpockets in Egypt.

Critical Reception of the Series, Praise from Magda Khairallah

Art critic Magda Khairallah praised the series "El Noss". She commented: "The series (El Noss) by the always brilliant and intelligent talent Ahmed Amin, occupies the first, second and third place among comedy series in the first half of Ramadan, a smart and hard-working scenario, a director who cares about the details of time and the composition of the cadre, and the performance of the actors, human feelings, and elegant laughter."

She continued: "Hamza El-Aili is at the peak of creativity for the character of a person who lives in the shadows, in a clothing store for one of the theater groups, looking for an opportunity to prove to himself first that he deserves respect and to be visible and not ignored by everyone."

She added, "Asmaa Abu El-Yazid has a beautiful face, talent, and a bright spot in the series. A salute to director Hossam Ali and the scriptwriting team, Abdel Rahman Gawish, Sarah Hegras, and Wagih Sabry."

Amal Magdy’s Analysis, A Cohesive Narrative Amidst a Weak Season

Art critic Amal Magdy said: "The series "El Noss" by director Hossam Ali stands out as one of the most important works in the first half of the Ramadan 2025 drama season, across productions of various genres and specifically in the comedy category."

She continued: "The series derives its appeal from several strong elements, most notably the actor Ahmed Amin's leading role, as he enjoys the trust of various segments of the Egyptian audience. In addition, the work is based on an entertaining literary text by journalist Hosni Youssef, which narrates the adventures of a professional thief in the 1920s. It also belongs to the historical drama genre, which the small screen has traditionally presented in a serious setting, but here it is crafted with a lighthearted plot, without compromising the spirit of the period. Clear attention is paid to production design, from the sets and costumes to the accessories. Although some filming locations appear artificial, the overall image succeeds in evoking the atmosphere of the last century with a convincing visual touch."

Amal added: "The series is based on the theme of fraud, which is one of the themes that audiences always love, especially when these fraudsters, despite their diversity, are from the marginalized class, struggling to provide for their daily needs in a country groaning under the yoke of colonialism. Despite their different motives, they are united by daily concerns and simple dreams. Some of the thefts they commit go beyond being mere crimes, as they carry within them a dimension of struggle, shaking the prestige of the English and earning them popular sympathy. All of this is presented within the framework of an intelligent dialogue language that blends old and modern vocabulary in a sarcastic style, which at times breaks the illusion and elicits smiles."

Amal commented: "The comedy style in the series is similar in form to the program "Al-Balato", which Ahmed Amin used to present. He is famous for presenting sketches of various social situations sarcastically, as we see in the scene of a pickpocket's funeral when Abdel Aziz El-Nos objects to common phrases and contemplates their meaning with distinctive sarcasm. These scenes usually succeed in making us laugh, but they do not reach the point of drowning the audience in fits of laughter until they tear up."

She explained: "In general, despite its positive aspects, the series suffers from a lack of pacing, as events develop at a slow pace, especially in the first episodes, which may affect the viewer's engagement with the story. The characters also seem largely static, without clear paths that gradually evolve. There are no tangible transformations that reflect the depth of their journeys within the plot."

Amal concluded: "However, 'El Noss' remains a cohesive narrative adventure amidst a season that suffers in the first half from weak approaches and a lack of logic in most of its scripts."

 The Life of Abdel Aziz El Noss

Abdel Aziz El Noss, in the book Memoirs of a Pickpocket, is a handsome and elegant man, despite not having distinctive features on his face, but his life was full of attractive stories, as he learned pickpocketing at the hands of Mahmoud Daqdaq, one of the most prominent pickpockets, and began practicing this criminal activity, to become the most prominent pickpocket in that era, but after a period of success in that profession, Al-Nus decided to move away from this path and head towards trading in a candy store on Mohamed Ali Street.

With the beginning of World War I, Abdel Aziz El Noss's financial situation deteriorated between 1914 and 1915, so he lost everything he owned and left the world of pickpocketing forever, and began a new journey working as a supervisor in the "Trami" service. Thanks to his determination and continuous attempts, he was able to obtain this position, which he worked in for 8 years, but he returned to pickpocketing, which reflects an internal conflict between good and evil, which Ahmed Amin narrates in 15 episodes in Ramadan 2025.

A Collection of Folk Tales

The book "Memoirs of a Pickpocket", published by Dar Don, by the writer Ayman Othman, in 2023, is a collection of folk tales, representing the diaries narrated by a pickpocket named Abdel Aziz El Noss, in the first half of the twentieth century, written by the journalist Hosni Youssef in the newspaper "Lisan Al-Shaab" in a series of articles published between 1924 and 1930 after the former asked the latter to write his memoirs, similar to the young man Abu Al-Hajjaj Youssef, who had already published his memoirs previously under the title "Memoirs of a Young Man".

Ayman Othman