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| Serâa fi al-wadi / Struggle in the Valley starring Omar Sharif. |
صراع في الوادي / Ṣira‘ Fī al-Wādī / Siraa fil-wadi / Fight in the Valley / The Blazing Sun / The Blazing Sky / Ciel d’enfer / Le Démon du désert / Cielo infernale / Tödliche Rache.
Director: Youssef Chahine. Year: 1954. Country: Egitto. Sog., Scen.: Ali Al-Zorkani, Helmi Halim. F.: Ahmed Khorshed. M.: Kamal Abou el-Ela. Scgf.: Maher Abdel-Nour. Mus.: Fouad El-Zaheri.
Int.: Faten Hamama (Amal), Omar Sharif [credited as عمر الشريف / Omar El Cherif] (Ahmed), Zaki Rostom (Taher Pasha), Abdelawarès Assar (il padre di Ahmed), Farid Chawki (Riad), Hamdy Gheith (Selim).
Prod.: Gabriel Talhami per Films Gabriel Talhami. DCP. D.: 117’. Bn
Locations: the list of locations is included in the opening credits. I wish I could copy it here.
Not released in Finland.
Copy from MISR International Films.
Restored by Association Youssef Chahine in collaboration with La Cinémathèque française and MISR International Films with the support of CNC – Centre national de la cinématographie et de l’image animée and Archives audiovisuelles de Monaco at Hiventy laboratory from a nitrate negative preserved by Archives audiovisuelles de Monaco.
Youssef Chahine – The Last Arab Optimist.
Introduce Amal Guermazi (musicologa).
Arab version with English subtitles.
Viewed at Cinema Jolly, Bologna, Il Cinema Ritrovato, with e-subtitles in Italian, 24 June 2019.
Tewfik Hakem (Il Cinema Ritrovato): "A young sailor returns home to Alexandria after three years’ absence to find his mother and his pretty cousin, Amal, still living in the small house he grew up in. Now that he has saved up some money, there is nothing to stop him from marrying Amal. New developments, though, threaten his plans…"
"Wheeling and dealing in the port of Alexandria, boat chase sequences through raging seas, a torrid love affair… this black-and-white film left an indelible mark on generations of Arab film buffs, notably for its ardent movie kiss between the sailor and his cousin: a brutal kiss taken without consent to illustrate the devastating effects of this working class sailor’s passion for his beloved, whom he suspects, wrongly, of preferring a childhood friend, the prosperous new harbour manager."
"Shot in Youssef Chahine’s native Alexandria, this social melodrama established his style, underpinned by a stint in Hollywood learning the business and an obsession with Shakespeare. It was to be a style that combined political commitment and a love for glamour with the highest artistic standards, both in camerawork and in the generosity with which he made his films accessible to a wide audience. This production also launched the career of another native Alexandrian, Michel Chelhoub, who achieved Hollywood star status as Omar Sharif, a more catchier name devised by Chahine himself. The sensuous manner in which Chahine filmed Sharif set him and Faten Hamama, the biggest Egyptian star of her day, at the pinnacle of glamour in the golden age of Egyptian cinema. They married after the shoot." Tewfik Hakem
NB. The program note above is not about Serâa fi al-wadi / Struggle in the Valley (see the Wikipedia synopsis beyond the jump break). It is about its sister film and follow-up Serâa fil-mina ([Struggle in the Port] / [Dark Waters], 1956), also starring Omar Sharif.
AA: The queen of Egyptian cinema was the big draw in Struggle in the Valley. Faten Hamama was already an established star, having started as a child actress in the 1930s. Hers was a distinguished career not only in enhancing the status of women in Egyptian cinema but also in Egyptian society.
Omar Sharif, whose name was changed in this film by Youssef Chahine from Michel Chelboub to Omar El Cherif, is immediately impressive in his gentle and dignified presence. Film festival serendipity: during the same morning we saw the breakthrough roles of Gary Cooper and Omar Sharif, both with a similar unassuming and self-deprecating masculine charisma. As a "man as spectacle" Omar Sharif has Marlon Brando moments, with sweat-soaked shirts and without.
Struggle in the Valley belongs to the blessed films (think about Bogart and Bacall) in which the storybook romantic couple became lovers in reality: Faten Hamama and Omar Sharif were married in 1955-1974.
The film takes place before the 23 July Revolution in 1952 when the Free Officers Movement abolished first King Farouk and then monarchy and aristocracy themselves. The events take place during the final stage of a social order which reminds Europeans of Feudalism.
Struggle in the Valley is a revolutionary film with epic dimensions. It is about a fight for justice, against oppression and exploitation. Omar Sharif and Faten Hamama portray conflicted characters torn between family devotion and social justice. In Youssef Chahine's hands the drama grows into an electrifying popular saga relevant to the birth of modern republican Egypt.
Shooting on location in Upper Egypt, Chahine displays neorealistic affinities in his account of the hard work in sugar cane fields. There is at times a documentary quality in his view of the life in the countryside, including camel processions, wedding ships and enchanting female dancers.
A key chase and gunfight sequence is set in the ruins of the ancient Karnak Temple in Luxor, near the ancient Thebes. Kristin Thompson would be upset to see this. I hope the walls hit by bullets were studio simulations.
A distinguished restoration of a remarkable film, at times with frozen digital moments.
SYNOPSIS FROM WIKIPEDIA:
"Omar Sharif plays Ahmed, an engineer whose father (played by Abdel Waress Assar) is a farmer and a farm owner. His father succeeds in improving and increasing the production of sugar cane in his farm. Taher Pasha, a wealthy land owner, who runs a competing sugar cane production facility, feels threatened by his recent production prosperity. Ahmed is in a love relationship with the pasha's daughter, Amal, but as a consequence to the rivalry between both their fathers, he is compelled to hide their relationship."
"The pasha learns of a heated dispute that started between Ahmed's father and one of his partners and finds this to be his perfect chance. He plans a crime and a conspiracy against Ahmed's father. The next day, the partner is found murdered in the farm, and Ahmed's father is suspected to be the murderer, especially after his quarrel with the victim. He is blamed for the crime and sentenced to death. Ahmed learns of a witness of this crime, but after looking for him, he discovers that he was killed in a mysterious accident. Ahmed's father is executed and his partner's son, Selim, seeks revenge for his father's death. He searches for Ahmed for retribution. Ahmed, fearing his death, hides in an ancient temple in the desert."
"Meanwhile, a relative of the pasha asks the pasha for the hand of his daughter, Amal, but the pasha refuses and rejects his offer. Angered, he kills the pasha and reveals the truth of the murder to the police. After knowing the truth of his father's true murderer, Selim apologizes to Ahmed. Ahmed returns to his love and marries her."
SYNOPSIS FROM EGYPTIAN WIKIPEDIA VIA INTERNET TRANSLATOR:
"The film revolves around Upper Egypt before the 23rd of July revolution. Agricultural engineer Ahmed Ibn Nazer helps agricultural farmers improve the quality of reeds, which led to improved quality of production. The sugar company contracts with them instead of the feudal basha, provoking his anger and conspiring with his nephew Riad to destroy their crops through the opening of the dam and the dumping of crops. Riadh conspires and kills Sheikh Abdul Samad and accuses Saber, the agricultural nuisance father of Ahmed, who has an emotional relationship with Amal Basha's daughter. Salim, son of the deceased, hunts down the agricultural engineer for revenge. Ahmed tries to prove his father's innocence but he fails, and Saber is executed."
"The events are aggravated when Basha refuses to marry his daughter from Riyadh, prompting Riad to threaten to inform the police. Riyad kills his uncle. The Pasha confesses his crimes before he dies and Riyadh is arrested."
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