For the Love of Film - Sins of an Angel
This is my second For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon 2015 entry which started on 13th May and ends today (my first entry can be read here).
The aim of the blogathon is to raise funds for the National Film Preservation Foundation (an independent, nonprofit organization created to rescue endangered films) to support restoring a specific film each year. This year's film is Cupid in Quarantine. You can read more about it here.
If this is of interest to you, please donate as little or as much as you can by clicking on the "Donate Here" button at the end of this post.
خطيئة ملاك (Khatee'at Malak) / Sins of an Angel
(dir. Yehya Al Elmy, Egypt, 1979)
Earthlings are looked down upon in this sci-fi romance musical. It becomes less "sci" and more a moralistic ficional tale about good and evil as it progresses.
The film starts with a sequence of scenes of war, destruction, lust and commerce, depicting Earth as a terrible place. Unlike the rest of his chiffon clad angelic clan, Tomar (Hussain Fahmy) thinks people on Earth need help from their destructive behavior and wants to go to Earth, to seek the truth and help fix things.
Against the approval of his leader, he declares his intention to go and asks his girlfriend Elham (Nelly) to join him. She prays for him to stay, but he insists on going and she insists on not joining him, so he leaves her behind.
Tomar transports himself to Earth and finds himself literally thrown into the deep end where he lands in a swimming pool. He enjoys the sensation of swimming and water which is alien to him. During his first moments on Earth, Tomar is exposed to bathing beauties, gets kicked out of the pool for swimming naked and even gets hit on by a man.
But soon Tomar realizes the importance of money which he needs to buy food and clothes. He stumbles upon a magic show at the local fairground. The magician is played by Adel Adham (always the bad guy in films - so viewers already know something's up with his character) and by his side is a the young and beautiful assitant Yasmine (with Nelly taking on this role too). Thomar ends up showing he's got some magic tricks up his own sleeves and joins as assisting magician to make a living.
The Magician is interested in using Tomar's magic tricks to his own advantage. Soon, Tomar is exposed to the ugly side of humans - cheating, greed and sexual violence. But he also starts developing feelings for two different women - oddly enough he doesn't seem to know how to cope or act upon them on Earth and doesn't seem to think he is doing his fair share of cheating (on his girlfriend Elham). He learns of unrequited love and starts taking on the bad habits of humans, lying, judging and even drinking more than he should.
During his time on Earth, Tomar's best friend Tharod appears regularly to check up on him (he is invisible to others) and to guide him on the ways of the earthlings.
The musical numbers continue with songs about money. Crimes are comitted - money is stolen, attempted kidnapping and rape, and murder - followed by a trail leading to a a death penalty. In all of this, Tomar is trying to do the right thing, to redeem himself and humans around him.
In the end, Tomar is miraculously saved from hanging and returns to his home and his chiffon heavy wardrobe, and rekindles his relationship with Elham.
You can read all the participating posts in the host blogs listed below:
Ferdy on Film on 13-14 May
This Island Rod on 15-16 May
Wonders in the Dark on 17 May
