Farouk: Last Of The Pharoahs

Wasn't it Plato who said that "the life which is unexamined is not worth living?" Well, Peter Batty's documentary on Farouk, the last King of Egypt, proves that the opposite can also be true. In 1936, at the age of 16, Farouk became King of Egypt following the death of his father. Although Farouk's contemporaries report that he planned to reverse all the evils in the country, and champion the working class, what he basically did was...nothing. That's not precisely true. He did sleep in till noon; he gambled, drank, and played the role of stud muffin; and, of course, he robbed his people blind. Although the commentary is both intelligent and often funny, the story of Farouk is basically the stuff of National Enquirer, and while along the way one does learn a considerable amount about Arab politics and recent history, what remains in the brain are the less than sterling observations about Farouk: for instance, it is said that following his coronation, he never read another book in his life. In 1952, Farouk finally had his considerable butt kicked out of Egypt, and he retired to Italy, where he squandered what he had left, and died broke at the age of 45. What can I say? It ain't Florence Nightingale. On the other hand, trashy biography is always popular. You call it. An optional purchase. (Available from most distributors.)