Doaa al-Karawan
Encyclopedia
The Nightingale's Prayer is a classical 1959 Egyptian drama film
directed by Henry Barakat and based on a novel by the prominent writer Taha Hussein. It stars Faten Hamama
and Ahmed Mazhar
.
In 1996, during the Egyptian Cinema
centennial, this film was selected one of the best 150 Egyptian film productions. It received an award of recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
and was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
at the 32nd Academy Awards
, but was not accepted as a nominee. It was also entered into the 10th Berlin International Film Festival
.
of her older sister by her uncle, who had abandoned her family and left them with no support. She understands from her mother that her sister deserves to die because she dishonors the family. Amna doesn't agree. She believes that her uncle should be blamed for their conditions. She seeks revenge from the engineer
who swayed her sister and lied to her thus causing her death. Amna moves to his house to work as a maid
and tries to poison
him several times, but all her plans fail. She discovers it's impossible to kill him. This engineer starts to approach her, but she resists him, which makes him even more attracted to her.
The poor girl thought that by not resisting him anymore and pretending to love him, she would be able to destroy his life. What she didn't expect was that she herself would fall in love with him. She plans to dig a hole and trick him into falling in it. She tries to but fails and both fall in the hole. She faces him with the truth, and reveals who she is. She decides to leave him as she knows that her plan fails. Her uncle finds out what she had done and decides to kill her because she has ruined the family's reputation. As she steps out of the engineer's house, she sees her uncle and immediately realizes that he has bad intentions, but the engineer sees him too, and takes the bullet
in his back to protect her and save her life.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Henry Barakat and based on a novel by the prominent writer Taha Hussein. It stars Faten Hamama
Faten Hamama
Faten Hamama is an Egyptian producer and an acclaimed actress of film, television, and theatre. She was regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from melodramas to historical films and occasional comedies, though her chief successes were romantic dramas...
and Ahmed Mazhar
Ahmed Mazhar
-Biography:Ahmed Hafez Mazhar was an Egyptian actor. He graduated from the military academy in 1938 and his colleagues included Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat...
.
In 1996, during the Egyptian Cinema
Cinema of Egypt
The cinema of Egypt refers to the flourishing Egyptian Arabic-language film industry based in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Since 1976, Cairo has held the annual Cairo International Film Festival, which has been accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations. There is also...
centennial, this film was selected one of the best 150 Egyptian film productions. It received an award of recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
and was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 32nd Academy Awards
32nd Academy Awards
The 32nd Academy Awards honored film achievements of 1959 on 4 April 1960.MGM's and director William Wyler's three and a half-hour long epic drama Ben-Hur won 11 Oscars in 1959, breaking the previous year's all-time record of nine...
, but was not accepted as a nominee. It was also entered into the 10th Berlin International Film Festival
10th Berlin International Film Festival
The 10th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June to 5 July 1960.-Jury:* Harold Lloyd * Georges Auric* Henry Reed* Sohrab Modi* Floris Luigi Ammannati* Hidemi Ima* Joaquín de Entrambasaguas* Frank Wisbar...
.
Plot
Amna is a young woman that witnesses the deathDeath
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
of her older sister by her uncle, who had abandoned her family and left them with no support. She understands from her mother that her sister deserves to die because she dishonors the family. Amna doesn't agree. She believes that her uncle should be blamed for their conditions. She seeks revenge from the engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
who swayed her sister and lied to her thus causing her death. Amna moves to his house to work as a maid
Maid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
and tries to poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
him several times, but all her plans fail. She discovers it's impossible to kill him. This engineer starts to approach her, but she resists him, which makes him even more attracted to her.
The poor girl thought that by not resisting him anymore and pretending to love him, she would be able to destroy his life. What she didn't expect was that she herself would fall in love with him. She plans to dig a hole and trick him into falling in it. She tries to but fails and both fall in the hole. She faces him with the truth, and reveals who she is. She decides to leave him as she knows that her plan fails. Her uncle finds out what she had done and decides to kill her because she has ruined the family's reputation. As she steps out of the engineer's house, she sees her uncle and immediately realizes that he has bad intentions, but the engineer sees him too, and takes the bullet
Bullet
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...
in his back to protect her and save her life.
Cast
- Faten HamamaFaten HamamaFaten Hamama is an Egyptian producer and an acclaimed actress of film, television, and theatre. She was regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from melodramas to historical films and occasional comedies, though her chief successes were romantic dramas...
as Amna. - Ahmed MazharAhmed Mazhar-Biography:Ahmed Hafez Mazhar was an Egyptian actor. He graduated from the military academy in 1938 and his colleagues included Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat...
as the engineer. - Amina Rizk
- Zahrat El-Ola as Henady.
- Abdel Alim as Khattab.
- Mimi ChakibMimi ChakibMimi Chakib was an Egyptian actress who appeared in some 15 films mostly in the 1940s and 1950s.She entered film in 1934 and appeared in films such as Nahwa al-Majd in 1949. Her last film appearance was in Doa al karawan in 1959 in which she appeared alongside actors such as Faten Hamama and...
as Zanooba. - Raga El Geddawy as Khadeega.