Saturday, January 25, 2014

Shafiqa and Metwali [شفيقة ومتولي] - (Soad Hosny) - (1979)

Shafiqa and Metwali (Soad Hosny) (1979) Egyptian film poster

Pictured is a 27" x 39" Egyptian poster designed by Hassan Mazhar Gasour and Anise to promote the 1979 Aly Badrakhan 109-minute color film Shafiqa and Metwali starring Soad Hosny based on a story by Shawqi Abdel Hakim with screenplay and dialogue by Salah Jahine and cinematography by Abdelhalim and Mohsen Nasr. Plot summary: This film is director Aly Badrakhan's revised and very popular version of the timeless Egyptian tale of an honor killing in which a prostitute named Shafiqa [Soad Hosny] is murdered by her brother Metwali [Ahmed Zaki] for dishonoring his family. The story is set in the 19th Century during the construction of the Suez Canal [1859-1869] when Metwali is pressed into forced labor for the project leaving Shafiqa to the depredations of the lascivious male inhabitants of her village. In the Badrakhan version Shafiqa is shot by one of her lovers named Effendia [Gamil Ratib] to prevent her revealing secrets she has learned about his business dealings, just as the returning Metwali is about to stab her with his sword. Badrakhan's story, unlike the original moral drama, does not provide narrative support for the practice of honor killing. It makes a point of showing that the men in Shafiqa's life are just as guilty as she is in different ways and that ethical failings are distributed throughout society.

Cast and crew: Soad Hosny, Ahmed Mazhar, Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Ahmed Zaki, Aly Badrakhan, Gamil Ratib, Mahmoud El Guindi, Malek Al-Gamal, Hamza al-Shimi, Naima Al-Soghayar, Ahmed Hegazi, Ahmed Bedir, Abdel Waress Assar, Younes Shalaby, Abdelhalim Nasr, Mohsen Nasr, Salah Jahine, Shawqi Abdel Hakim





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