La anam

"Sleepless" (1957) is another Egyptian film which I would recommend to anyone interested in getting a taste of Egyptian cinema, as it is a very accessible, technically proficient film - it plays almost like a Hollywood melodrama, only in a different language. It's an overlong (a little over two hours) but engrossing soap opera, with Freudian implications. Slickly made, in vivid color, and a prime cast: Egyptian superstar Faten Hamamah, convincingly playing below her age, is especially effective in her off-screen narration, while Hind Rustum is worth two Jayne Mansfields all by herself. And if all that is not enough, Omar Sharif has a sizable role as well. *** out of 4.