''Letter from an Unknown Woman'' ( ar, رسالة من امرأة مجهولة, transliterated as ''Ressalah min emraa maghoula'') is an

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

film released on October 22,

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

. The film is directed by

Salah Abu Seif Salah Abu Seif ( ar, صلاح أبو سيف, ) (May 10, 1915 – June 23, 1996) was one of the most famous Egyptian film directors, and is considered to be the godfather of Neorealist cinema in Egyptian cinema. Many of the 41 films he direct ...

, based on the titular short story by

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

writer

Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig (; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist, and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular write ...

, and produced by Salah Zulfikar, while it stars Farid al-Atrash and

Lobna Abdel Aziz Lobna Abdel Aziz, aka Lobna Abdelaziz or Lobna Abd- el-aziz ( arz, لبنى عبد العزيز; born August 1, 1935) is an Egyptian actress. Family Her father was Egyptian author Hamed Abdelaziz. In her early life she was married outside Egy ...

Cast

* Farid al-Atrash (Ahmed Sameh) *

(Amal) * Mary Mounib (Khadija, Amal’s mother) *

Amina Rizk Amina Rizk ( ar, أمينة رزق; April 15, 1910 – August 24, 2003) was a classic Egyptian actress who appeared in around 208 artworks including more than 70 movies between 1928 and 1996. She was calm in her later years, but described as a c ...

(Amal’s aunt) * Fakher Fakher (Ibrahim Aman, Ahmed’s servant) * Abdel Moneim Ibrahim (Dr. Monem) * Laila Karim (Nevine) *

Hussein el-Sayed Hussein El-Sayed ( ar, حسين السيد; born 11 December 1964), is an Egyptian former professional footballer. He played for ESCO and Zamalek as a goalkeeper. International career He represented Egypt in the 1994 African Cup of Nations. H ...

(Said Kamel) * Yaqoub Mikhail (Umar Mahfouz) * Abdel Ghani Nagdi (Fawaz al-Ghafir) * Nawal Abul Foutouh *

Ezzat El Alaili Ezzat El Alaili ( ar, عزت العلايلي) (15 September 1934 – 5 February 2021) was an Egyptian actor who starred in over 300 films, TV series, and theatre plays since the 1960s. He had his bachelor's degree from the Higher Institute of The ...

(Ahmed Sameh’s friend)

Synopsis

Ahmed Sameh ( Farid al-Atrash) is a famed singer-songwriter who lives a life of dissipation as he indulges in

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

and women. He remains a deceptively lonely bachelor despite the efforts of associates such as Dr. Monem (Abdel Moneim Ibrahim) and Nevin ( Laila Karim) to make marriage matches for him. On his birthday, Ahmed receives a lengthy letter he would have thrown away save for a note on the envelope saying it reveals an unknown secret in his life, and so he promptly reads what turns out to be a missive from a girl named Amal (

), a former neighbor who peeped at him from her window. She falls in love with his music and threw her pillowcase on his balcony to enter his house, where she befriends Ibrahim Aman ( Fakher Fakher), Ahmed’s servant; on her way out, she encounters Ahmed, who praises the beauty of her eyes and gifts her a box of

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

s. Amal’s mother Khadija ( Mary Mounib), marries a man named Umar Mahfouz Yaqoub Mikhail, and they move to Mansoura. Amal finishes her studies and fields a proposal from Hosni (Kamal el-Zeiny), but she dismisses her suitor and travels to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

to live with her aunt Fatima (

) and work at an insurer. She stalks Sameh’s house several times until she is caught by Ibrahim, who asks her to stay awhile at the apartment, where he tells her all the latest on Ahmed. She visits the distraught man and is slashed by his car wheels, for which he apologizes. They travel a deserted road back and his car hits a pothole, so Fawaz al-Ghafir ( Abdel Ghani Nagdi) calls them a valet back to one of the empty apartments, thinking that they are a couple; they consummate the relationship that he forgot and that he remembered. Fatima says the situation needs to be hidden after visiting Ibrahim and finding Sameh still non-responsive. Amal takes her leave from work to give birth to a son she names Sameh (Youssef Hosni and returns to work with a wedding ring. She gets to know Mr. Said Kamel (

), a client of the insurer who helps her in her work. She encounters Ahmed, who tells her he thought he had seen her before, once again and goes to his house, only to leave when he thinks she was a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

. A speeding car hits Sameh Jr., who needs a

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...

. Unable to secure his

blood type A blood type (also known as a blood group) is a classification of blood, based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrate ...

, Amal sends for Ahmed, who rushes to the hospital to donate blood to his son.

External links

El Cinema page

IMDb page
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References

{{Salah Abu Seif Egyptian drama films 1962 films Films based on works by Stefan Zweig Films directed by Salah Abu Seif