

Egypt • 1956
Youssef Chahine’s love for classic Hollywood musicals shines through his own exuberant forays into the genre, including this inventive and offbeat blend of singing, dancing, and melodrama. Beloved singer-stars Farid al-Atrash and Shadia light up the screen as a hard-hearted, terminally ill marine sergeant and the nurse who, in caring for him, gradually falls in love. In only his second musical, Chahine shows his eagerness to experiment with the possibilities of the form as he would continue to do throughout his career.
Youssef Chahine’s love for classic Hollywood musicals shines through his own exuberant forays into the genre, including this inventive and offbeat blend of singing, dancing, and melodrama. Beloved singer-stars Farid al-Atrash and Shadia light up the screen as a hard-hearted, terminally ill marine sergeant and the nurse who, in caring for him, gradually falls in love. In only his second musical, Chahine shows his eagerness to experiment with the possibilities of the form as he would continue to do throughout his career.