Afrita Hanem: The Genie Lady (1949)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The acting in this movie is really good.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

With my family being away for most of bank holiday Monday,I started searching round for a film I could watch during the day. Hearing about Egyptian cinema from other ICM users during the Musical Challenge,I was thrilled to stumble on an Egyptian Musical,which led to me walking like an Egyptian.The plot:Desiring the hand of marriage from his love Aleya, Operetta writer Asfour finds his hand to be pushed aside by Aleya and her dad,due to Asfour being a rough round the edges working class fellow,who does not have the elite friends that Aleya and her family spend time with. Blindly loving Aleya, Asfour and his friend Bou'ou try to find ways to get enough cash so that they can join the elite. Believing that they have no luck,Asfour finds a lamp containing genie Kahramana,who says she will grant all his wishes. As Asfour orders wishes for Aleya's love, Kahramana finds Asfour to remind her of a long lost love.View on the film:Appearing from a puff of smoke, Samia Gamal gives a magical performance as Kahramana and lookalike Semsema. Giving the genie a very modern sensibility, Gamal shoves the "Yes master" traditions aside to grant Asfour's wishes with a gleeful sass,with Gamal being very funny when Kahramana disapproves of the request. Longing for her love, Gamal strikes transfixing poses in the belly dancing sequences, and expressively shows what Asfour is missing right in front of his eyes. Performing his own songs with a dash of classic movie star glamour, Farid Al Atrache gives a wonderful performance as Asfour,whose love for Aleya springs out with mad-cap energy. Humble before the genie is out of the bottle, Atrache gets Asfour lapping up his new luxuries,whilst prominently keeping all that he is losing in view.Running for an hour and 52 minutes instead of the run time IMDb give, the screenplay by co-writer/(with Abu Seoud El-Ibiary) director Henry Barakat cross sweet Fantasy with smooth Musical,lightly comedic Melodrama. Keeping the genie off screen for the first 30 mins,the writers brilliantly build the friendship between Asfour and Bou'ou, (hilariously played by Ismail Yasseen ) with their humble work life just about keeping Asfour's love for Aleya somewhat grounded. Bringing magic into their lives, the writers do very well at blending Fantasy and Melodrama, via the wishes Kahramana grants, making her love for Asfour more noticeable,and also showing how no matter how many wishes Asfour wants, none of them will grant true love.Giving the dance numbers some Arabian Night riches, director Barakat opens the tale with lavish tracking shots stylishly gathering up all that Asfour has wished. Along with Gamal looking very sexy,Barakat superbly makes each Musical number match Asfour's move from the working class to the elite. Putting on a show for the final, Barakat weaves spells with gliding shots across Asfour's new mansion and fade in/fade outs fading in on Kahramana's disapproval of Asfour's Arabian tale.

That was the golden age in Egyptian cinema where the best musicals were produced in the 40's and 50's. Farid and Samia were the Middle Eastern version of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers who entertained audiences over the years and were the perfect couple before their separation; Samia married an American businessman and traveled to the US to amaze people with her first class belly dancing while Farid continued singing and acting in movies with dramatic and sad themes until his death. Afrita Hanem is a masterpiece in Egyptian cinema and it's a shame you'll never find this quality of movies in our present days due to cultural and social changes.

Every time I watch this classic I say "No way that was made in 1949". But that, I think, is a reason why this is a classic ! The Egyptian movies, as same as the Egyptian people, love to sing and dance. During the 1940s and the 1950s the musical comedies lived a golden age, with endless movies. Some were weak, some were average, and some, like the one in hand, were super.It has not many but all the great factors. (Farid Al Atrache) is a magnificent singer, composer, who assured here how undoubtedly talented he was as a comedian too. His melodies always have a profoundly sad mood, and yes in this movie the happy ones are few, yet that deepened the romantic core of it seriously. (Ismail Yasseen); aka the powerhouse of farce in the Egyptian cinema for at least 2 decades. He does a role of a sidekick in a way makes it a measure for else actors. By the way his name in the movie means in the Egyptian slang (his mouth), mocking at his trademark sizable mouth. (Abdel Salam Al Nabulsy), (Stephan Rosti) and (Lola Sedki) you can't find a trio of evil, comic evil, better than this. Then the movie's icon, the jinni herself, (Samia Gamal) who perfectly mastered the 2 roles, Kahramana and Semsema, with lovely infancy, incredible lightness and fresh sexiness.(Abu Seoud El-Ibiary) was a master writer who knows what can make us laugh. And this is one of his best works. The way he remade the story of Aladdin's Lamp; which belongs to the Arabian heritage of folk stories, is fascinating. The giant male demon turns into very hot barely-covered she-jinni (Kahramana), the poor Aladdin into poor singer and composer (Asfoor), Aladdin's love into a saucy yet deeply romantic dancer, another version of the she-jinni, (Semsema). Look at the way how it makes a classic romance out of it; (Asfoor) loves the wrong girl who's interested in only his money, while he's being really loved by both Kahramana and Semsema however he's the last to know. All of that are mixed into a plot of 2 competing musical stages, where the numbers unfold. And, believe it or not, it eventually managed to be a wise satirical reading to the human naivety; with the monologue of (Zaki Ibrahim), as the old kind Jinni, near the end about preferring every glowing falsity over the true thing. Simply this is how a folk story could be cinematically reborn as big blazing show, while saving its moral message as clear and bitter also.(Henry Barakat) did it all; melodramatic, realistic, romantic, comic movies, and why not musical ones. Sure he was living his golden age as well, making a movie which still oozes youth and vitality till now. Sometimes the pace is so cartoonish, sometimes the image is too-dazzling-it's-colored, and all the time the motion is enticing.Unlike nearly all the musicals back then, where having a number about the Arab and foreign countries' dances is a must, this time – more differently and quite romantically – it's about the year's 4 climatic seasons. And how the spring will win them all where love can grow again, while any previous defeat has to wither. I'm referring to the movie's main number (El Rabee') or (The Spring). It was a song written originally for (Om Kalthom) but when she desired too many changes from its writer (Ma'moon El-Shenawy), the last sold it to (Al Atrache). Ahhh, here's a new reason to love (Om Kalthom) !Shortcomings ? For me I just didn't like the traditional style of shooting few songs. But it's mainly related to the nature of the song that has something to do with the drama, yet with not much to express visually, like (Ha Afdal Ahebak); the song of (Al Atrache) feeling happy before going to engage his first love; where the camera didn't have anything but one close-up for him singing in his car. That was usual back then, but considered, by me, a treachery for the cinematic spirit of the movie, any movie. The end was a bit confusing for me as a kid; thinking always that the lead went into dimensions, traveling to the world of jinn, reuniting with his love. But it was only the staged spectacle where his love, human love, Semsema comes back to him; which's not the strongest ending dramatically though, even if it substantiates how the lead's pain, in the last song, is an enough apology.It has never been, at the time, an actress, this pretty as Samia Gamal, who stays for more than 90 % of the movie with risqué outfit. Whether being in the Jinni's transparent, so wildly naked, dress or the dancer's suit; Samia Gamal was unbelievably sexy, representing such an unprecedented sexual boldness (Now the Jinni of Aladdin's lamp must be so jealous. This is more deviltry !). Impossible to forget the dance she performed for (Asfoor) to show her "abilities" as a cleverer dancer, than his first love. It was – as the whole movie – sultry however done with class.It's a fantasy/musical/romance/comedy. Can I add so sexy as well? Of course. Among many many movies with the same story; about misusing the miraculous power to learn a lesson, since The Sorcerer's Apprentice's segment in (Fantasia – 1940) to Adam Sandler's (Click – 2006), this is the most sincere to the original, standing alone as perfect entertainment. For me, it isn't less than any great Hollywood movie at the time. And there is no Egyptian movie won the Oscar before? Huh. With this quality who needs it?!

Afrita Hanem is one of the Classics in Egyptian Movie History. It features both Samia Gamal (a legendary dancer, considered by many to be the greatest Egyptian dancer of all times) and Farid Al-Atrache (one of the best Arab musicians of all times). The two have starred in countless romantic comedies together and are beloved by the Egyptian public even today. This particular movie is the Story of a poor singer(Farid) who finds a magic lamp with a beautiful genie(Samia). The Genie falls in love with the singer instantly because he looks exactly like her long lost love. She promises to give him anything his heart desires. The singer who is in love with his co-star and bosses daughter tries everything he can to gain her interest but his Genie does everything she can to thwart his plans. This leads to some very humorous events. Although the movie is old and it's values are dated it can still be seen and understood by all audiences today including Americans with little to no understanding of Arab or Egyptian culture. Just like the values in our old movies in America are different from the values we hold to day. If you keep in mind what the early portion of the 19th century was like and keep those conservative values in your thought the movie should make a lot of sense. Someone else wrote that one of the scenes which had demons and dancing girls in it, didn't make any sense but seems to have forgotten that that was a part of their show not an actual event that supposedly happens to them in the movie. Throughout the movie they work in an Opera house producing musical and dance productions which are highly successful. This scene is from their show. It is also symbolically supposed to represent the torment that they had to go through to be with each other. The film quality is comparable to American films of the same era. Also if you have the DVD there are English subtitles which make the movie much easier to understand. I'm assuming that the person who wrote the previous review is probably watching one without subtitles.