The Open Door

Henry Barakat's 1963 Egyptian film follows Layla, the daughter of a middle-class family in Cairo. She grows up at the end of the forties, with school, family and the expectation of marriage framing her life. The film gives personal liberation together with the country's political movement. Layla beginning to make her own decisions runs alongside the demonstrations in the street; the narrative likens the two and ties its close to the days of Suez. It is adapted from Latifa al-Zayyat's novel. Faten Hamama leads. Its female character was considered unusual in Egyptian cinema of the period. Who it's for: viewers of classic Egyptian cinema and of women's narratives. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a fast narrative; the film is long and leans on melodrama.