Perfumed With Mint is the first feature directed by Muhammad Hamdy. The fact that he has nine previous credits as a cinematographer shouldn’t surprise anyone who watches the film. The outstanding quality of the work is the lensing done by the director himself. He is credited as the sole scriptwriter as well. The story, set in a deteriorating unnamed Egyptian city, is about Mahdy, who seeks help from his friend and doctor, Alaa, who is afflicted with a strange phenomenon – mint sprouting from his body. Meanwhile, Alaa has emotional scars of his own, namely the loss of his love Dalel. The only memory of her is a letter which is still wet and never seems to dry from tears.

Perfumed With Mint from the past

Alaa and Madhy will take a walk through the city, which is as much a walk through the past as it is here, represented by the scent of mint. As Sparks reminded us in their equally sad and masterful song Perfume, “The olfactory sense is the sense that most strongly evokes memories of the past”. The song concludes, “Screw the past!”. It is not that easy with the kind of trauma depicted here (nor in the Sparks song, as a matter of fact). The two men go out looking for hashish, but how profound can that substance ail a darkened soul?

All We Imagine as Pedro Costa

Is there a way out of this nightmare, which, on a narrative level, is akin to Czech masterpieces of the sixties? They meet characters they thought they knew but now seem estranged. Concerning the cinematic style, it is impossible not to think of the imagery of Pedro Costa, not in the sense that Hamdy is aping his style, but in how the images haunt the spectator like what haunts the characters in the film. The evocative imagery is constantly spellbinding, at least in cinema. There are most likely metaphors that are obvious for a viewer in the region where it is set, which are less so to a European audience, but the effect is still palpable.

All We Imagine as Darkness

Perfumed With Mint is a dark film in all senses of the word. The director/cinematographer uses light and darkness to generate a heightened state in the viewer, and the emphasis is clearly on the latter. Even though some of the themes may be local in nature, the portrayal of trauma is universal. Occasionally, like with the great Miklós Jancsó, the more profoundly you dig into your own history, the more global the final outcome will become.

Previously, Muhammad Hamdy won a Primetime Emmy for his cinematography in the documentary The Square (Al Midan 2014). It should not be confused with the muddled Ruben Östlund film of the same name.

Perfumed With Mint had its world premiere in the Settimana Internazionale della Critica at the Venice Film Festival. Subsequently, it was screened as one of the few worthy selections in the Best of Festivals section at the Black Nights Film Festival. Hopefully, the festival route will continue in 2025.