Cinema
The Nightingale's Prayer
دعاء الكروان
Henry Barakat · 1959
Synopsis
After the father's disgrace, Amna, a young illiterate villager, her sister Hanadi and their mother leave their village. Hanadi, placed as a domestic servant, is seduced by a young irrigation engineer, and their uncle kills her to wash away the family's dishonour. Amna swears to avenge her and in turn gets herself hired by the engineer, resolved to bring him down through seduction; but her intentions waver as a feeling grows between them.
Context
The film is based on Taha Hussein's novel, published in 1934. Youssef Gohar co-wrote the screenplay, André Ryder composed the music and Wahid Farid did the cinematography; Faten Hamama plays Amna and Ahmed Mazhar the engineer. According to the critic Samir Farid, cited in the Turin presentation, the adaptation departs from the novel in its ending. Mada Masr sees in it the beginning of a twenty-year collaboration between the director and the actress, in the service of women's emancipation.
Who it is for
A black-and-white feature film, in Arabic, based on a classic of Egyptian literature translated into French.
Prizes and reception
The film that sealed the partnership between the director and Faten Hamama, and that Mada Masr judges timeless.