Bidaya wa Nihaya (film)
Encyclopedia
Bidaya wa Nihaya is a 1960
Egypt
ian film
based on the novel
by the same name. It was the first film adapted from a novel written by Nobel Prize
winner Naguib Mahfouz
.
The film was directed by Salah Abouseif and nominated for "Grand Prix" at the 1961 Moscow Film Festival.
For her role as Nefisah, Sanaa Gamil
won the best supporting actress award at the Moscow Film Festival in 1961.
) and their mother (Amina Rizk), after the family's patriarch's death.
The older brother Sultan (Farid Shawki
) turns to crime, while the younger brother, Hassan, leaves Cairo
to work in another city. On the other hand, the youngest brother, Hassanein (Omar Sharif
), aspires to be a police officer, and in order to achieve that he puts his family into financial difficulties.
Nefisah falls in love and has an affair with the local grocer
's son (Salah Mansour
) and when he doesn't marry her, she works as a prostitute to support her brother.
The tragic ending of the film is one of the most memorable in Egyptian films; Nefisah gets arrested by the police and her brother Hassanien bails her out. After an intense argument between her and her brother, Nefisah commits suicide
by throwing herself in the Nile
followed by her brother, who throws himself in too.
Music by Fouad El Zahery.
1960 in film
The year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
based on the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by the same name. It was the first film adapted from a novel written by Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is regarded as one of the first contemporary writers of Arabic literature, along with Tawfiq el-Hakim, to explore themes of existentialism. He published over 50 novels, over 350 short stories, dozens of movie...
.
The film was directed by Salah Abouseif and nominated for "Grand Prix" at the 1961 Moscow Film Festival.
For her role as Nefisah, Sanaa Gamil
Sanaa Gamil
Sanaa Gamil , born Thoraya Youssef Atallah , was an Egyptian actress.Born to a Coptic Orthodox family in Upper Egypt, she moved to Cairo to pursue her acting career and changed her name to Sanaa Gamil....
won the best supporting actress award at the Moscow Film Festival in 1961.
Plot
The film portrays the lives of the members of an Egyptian family, who are three brothers, their sister Nefisah (Sanaa GamilSanaa Gamil
Sanaa Gamil , born Thoraya Youssef Atallah , was an Egyptian actress.Born to a Coptic Orthodox family in Upper Egypt, she moved to Cairo to pursue her acting career and changed her name to Sanaa Gamil....
) and their mother (Amina Rizk), after the family's patriarch's death.
The older brother Sultan (Farid Shawki
Farid Shawki
Farid Shawki Mohammad Abduh Badawi known as Farid Shawki was an Egyptian actor, screenwriter and film producer...
) turns to crime, while the younger brother, Hassan, leaves Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
to work in another city. On the other hand, the youngest brother, Hassanein (Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.-Early life:...
), aspires to be a police officer, and in order to achieve that he puts his family into financial difficulties.
Nefisah falls in love and has an affair with the local grocer
Grocer
A grocer is a bulk seller of food. Beginning as early as the 14th century, a grocer was a dealer in comestible dry goods such as spices, pepper, sugar, and cocoa, tea and coffee...
's son (Salah Mansour
Salah Mansour
Salah Mansour , was an Egyptian movie actor known for his roles in Lan A'taref and Al-Zagwa Al-Thaneya. He started in school theater, and graduated from the Egyptian acting institute in 1947. He worked in artistic-editing then joined the theater...
) and when he doesn't marry her, she works as a prostitute to support her brother.
The tragic ending of the film is one of the most memorable in Egyptian films; Nefisah gets arrested by the police and her brother Hassanien bails her out. After an intense argument between her and her brother, Nefisah commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by throwing herself in the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
followed by her brother, who throws himself in too.
Cast
- Omar SharifOmar SharifOmar Sharif is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.-Early life:...
as Hassanien - Sanaa GamilSanaa GamilSanaa Gamil , born Thoraya Youssef Atallah , was an Egyptian actress.Born to a Coptic Orthodox family in Upper Egypt, she moved to Cairo to pursue her acting career and changed her name to Sanaa Gamil....
as Nefisah - Farid ShawkiFarid ShawkiFarid Shawki Mohammad Abduh Badawi known as Farid Shawki was an Egyptian actor, screenwriter and film producer...
as Sultan - Amina Rizk as the mother
- Salah MansourSalah MansourSalah Mansour , was an Egyptian movie actor known for his roles in Lan A'taref and Al-Zagwa Al-Thaneya. He started in school theater, and graduated from the Egyptian acting institute in 1947. He worked in artistic-editing then joined the theater...
as the grocer's son - Amal Zayed
Music by Fouad El Zahery.