Fagr yom gedid

A Douglas Sirk-like melodrama centering on a middle-class woman in her forties who falls for a working-class college student. Chahine’s mastery of color cinematography, vividly illustrated in Saladin, is grounded here, transformed into a new expressive form that perfectly evokes the emotional rollercoaster of the narrative. Both a heartfelt romance and a piercing piece of social realism, Chahine’s oft-neglected gem also ranks among the most revealing visual documents of 1960s Egypt. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)