This melodrama about the working class, directed by Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine, follows Ahmed — played by Omar Sharif in his big screen debut — a young engineer, son of peasants, who returns to Upper Egypt. There, he falls in love with Amal (Faten Hamama, a legendary figure in Arab cinema), the daughter of a landowner who is determined to destroy the livelihoods of local farmers. In search of justice, Ahmed finds himself drawn into a spiral of disillusion and a confrontation with a brutal and ruthless hierarchical system. With echoes of Italian neorealism, the film portrays a youth torn between love and duty, lost in a burning landscape — just like the protagonists themselves.

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