Little Miss Devil
Afrita hanem (Arabic: عفريتة هانم, English: Little Miss Devil) is a 1949 Egyptian film about Asfour, a poor singer, played by Syrian musician Farid Al Atrache, who falls in love with Aleya, the somewhat spoiled daughter of his boss.
| Afrita hanem | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Henry Barakat |
| Produced by | Farid Al Atrache |
| Written by | Abo El Seoud El Ebiary |
| Starring | Samia Gamal Farid Al Atrache Lola Sedki Ismail Yassine |
| Music by | Farid Al Atrache |
| Cinematography | Ahmed Adley |
| Edited by | Emile Bahri |
Release date | 1949 |
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | Egypt |
| Language | Arabic |
Plot
Asfour wants to marry Aleya, but her father won't let the marriage happen due to Asfour's class status. Asfour turns to a genie for help, but the genie, a female genie named Kahramana, played by noted Egyptian actress and dancer Samia Gamal, falls in love with Asfour instead, and tries to manipulate his desires.
Reception
According to the British Film Institute’s book 100 Film Musicals, Afrita hanem critiques modernity: “Running through all these films (as through so many Indian films), exploring moral dilemmas in bourgeois family settings, is a discourse in which western modernity – cars, clothes, manners – is viewed negatively in relation to traditional values. The sage who presides over the genie in Afrita Hanem pops up from time to time to deliver homilies about materialistic greed and selfishness.”[1]
References
- Hillier, Jim and Douglas Pye. 100 Film Musicals (Bfi Screen Guides). British Film Institute, 2011, p. 16.