The Nightingale's Prayer: Praise for a Classic

The Nightingale's Prayer (Doa al karawan, 1959) by Henry Barakat stands as one of the greatest works of classic Egyptian cinema. The story, adapted from a novel by Taha Hussein, The Nightingale's Prayer is an epic love story filled with betrayal, tradition and murder.

The story follows Amna, a young, pretty Bedouin girl in Egypt who moves to the city with her mother and sister upon the insistence of her uncle, who wishes the women to escape the tainted name left by their womanizing father. Fascinated by, though fearful of, the city life, Amna and her sister, Hanadi, find jobs as housemaids in separate homes. Hanadi works for a respected engineer who seduces her by making her believe he was in love with her. When their mother learns of this, she notifies their uncle to take the girls back to their village.

However, the uncle has his own plan in mind and murders Hanadi in the desert to hide her sins from the villagers. Filled with rage, Amna returns to the city to find the engineer Hanadi fell in love with. What she finds is a womanizer who has seduced a long line of unsuspecting housemaids. Amna decides to work for the engineer and kill him to avenge her sister. But Amna realizes it is more difficult to murder than her uncle made it seem, and as she grows closer to the engineer (who remains nameless throughout the film) she finds her feelings for him change in a very unexpected way.

In the first half of the film, the story follows a traditional formula of moving from the rural to the city. Like many stories with this setup, the family that moves must change or sacrifice something to adapt into their new environment. The mother refuses to do either and sticks to tradition, while Amna and Hanadi quickly embrace city life. It is unclear what is more to blame for Hanadi's death--the mother's devotion to tradition in notifying her brother-in-law or Hanadi's embrace of sexual freedom--but the devastation that follows indicates that moving from the village to the city is a complex transition.

Following the death of Hanadi, Amna's adventures are just as much a search for revenge as it is an internal struggle. What makes The Nightingale's Prayer so powerful is the richly complex growth and development of its characters. Amna's development from young and naive villager, to fierce and determined avenger, to confused and torn lover is heart-wrenching. Faten Hamama's evocative performance is clearly the highlight of the film.

Also, the film's serves as a preservation of Bedouin culture. There are various scenes that are devoted to portraying traditions, values and practices of the Bedouins. The clash between Egyptian city life and village life is a reminder of the vast diversity that exists in the country.

The Nightingale's Prayer does not shy away from difficult subjects--such as poverty, sex and murder--but unlike contemporary, independent Egyptian films, this is in no way an "agenda" film. Nightingale does not seek to teach its audience a lesson about cultural traditions; it is purely an account of the complexities of love and the many forms it can take.

It may seem trivial to make such a distinction; however, the current independent Arab film industry comes with it a stereotype and expectation to make films that address current political and social issues. While many films do just that, its important to remember a that at one time, cinema in Egypt did resemble the "dream factory" that was Hollywood. In retrospect, a film such as Nightingale may seem to be a reflection on social attitudes towards sex and honor killings among Bedouins, but I feel this is an erroneous statement derived from the West's current obsession with political and social issues in the Arab world.

Overall, The Nightingale's Prayer is a lasting masterpiece of Egyptian film making with a worldwide appeal, while still being rooted in Arab culture and tradition.


Click here to watch a scene from the film. Amna and the Engineer relationship is complicated when the Engineer confesses his love, and Amna confesses her true motives.