The Nightingale's Prayer

Henry Barakat's 1959 Egyptian film, adapted from the novel by Taha Hussein, is set in the countryside of Upper Egypt. After her sister is killed in the name of honour, Amna enters the house of the engineer she holds responsible as a servant and sets a plan of revenge; as it advances, things do not go as she expected. The film's strength is naming an honour killing as murder rather than tradition, and doing so in 1959. Faten Hamama's performance carries anger through silence and is among the works that made her one of the most important actors in Arab cinema. The telling is melodramatic but its emotional steering is measured. The closing section is contested, and for some viewers forgiveness comes too easily. Who it's for: viewers who like classics of Arab cinema and literary adaptations. Who it's not for: anyone avoiding the subject of honour killing, or wanting a fast narrative.