As arguably the greatest African filmmaker to ever work in the medium (or at least one of them), Youseff Chahine left behind an enormously intimidating legacy, albeit one that is always a pleasure to explore. His canonical masterpiece is almost universally considered to be his homage to film noir in Cairo Station, which remains his most high-profile project, and possibly one of the greatest films ever produced on the continent. However, he had a long and prolific career in both his native Egypt and across the sea in the Middle East, which resulted in several very compelling films that may not be particularly well-known, but are still worth seeking out. The Blazing Sun (Arabic: صراع في الوادي‎), is one of his greatest achievements, a film that manages to both be epic in scope and intimate in its details, exploring two feuding sugar cane farms and the various people on either side, focusing in their many entanglements that complicate this competitive business relationship, eventually resulting in tragedy. Chahine was a director who always had a firm grasp on the subject matter, and even when making a seemingly simple drama, he manages to infuse it with an abundance of depth, turning The Blazing Sun into one of the most harrowing explorations of capitalism and the perils that await those that succumb to the temptation of greed. Everything that we’ve come to expect from Chahine as a filmmaker – beautiful cinematography, a socially-charged story that gives unforgettable glimpses into the lives of its people, and a firm understanding of cultural nuances – and it converges into a fascinating socio-political portrait of Egypt at a particular time that is as compelling as it is outright unsettling, proving this to be an absolutely essential work of African cinema.

One of the first images we see at the outset of The Blazing Sun is the face of a handsome young man, who we soon recognize as acting legend Omar Sharif (credited here under the more traditional Omar el-Cherif), which is an unexpected occurrence, considering how we’ve come to associate him with the bigger films he made later in his career, when he proved himself to be one of the most gifted actors to ever work in the medium. This film was his first acting appearance, and his talents were clear from the very beginning, with Chahine harnessing the raw talent of the young actor and channelling it into the film, creating a perfect showcase that is as much a demonstration for Sharif’s skills as an actor as it is an indication of the director’s authorial prowess. The film is built on Sharif’s performance, with his portrayal of the furious young Ahmed being absolutely unforgettable, and contributing to the deepest and more harrowing aspects of the story around him. The Blazing Sun is driven almost entirely by the characters, with Sharif and the rest of the cast, including Faten Hamama as his love interest (who is a surprisingly complex addition to the plot, which we may not have expected at the start) and Zaki Rostom and Farid Shawqi as the main villains, serving as the vessels through which Chahine manages to tell this haunting story of the pratfalls of capitalism. Each one of them is given a character of which they develop an intimate understanding – and looking deeper into each individual role, we can easily see how inextricably tied to the narrative each one of these characters are, and how they contribute to the deeper conversations the director is facilitating through this labyrinthine narrative.

Taking its cue from traditional fables that had very clear perceptions of what constitutes good and evil, as well as the archetypal characters that normally occur in these stories, The Blazing Sun is steeped in its nation’s culture, but only to the point where traditions serve as the foundation for the director’s provocations towards the concept of capitalism, the ideology merging flawlessly with the fundamental structure of the story. In theory, the film isn’t all that remarkable – it’s one of many films that uses the common structure of two feuding opponents finding their existence challenged when two of their relations fall in love, complicating the supposed competition when romance enters into the story. It’s not remarkable in terms of the exact premise, but instead develops into something more meaningful as a result of Chahine’s careful calibration of a number of supplementary themes, which are flawlessly woven into the narrative through the director’s keen sense of both tradition and modern social theory. The Blazing Sun functions as a multimodal film, occurring across multiple genres – partially a psychological drama about capitalistic desire, partially a heartwrenching romance set to the backdrop of some of Egypt’s most gorgeous locations, and eventually converging into a ferocious legal thriller about the extent to which some may go to achieve their goals and satiate their greed – and when oscillating between these various genres, Chahine shows himself once again to be a perfectly capable director who manages to do more with the most simple premise than many may have imagined possible.

The Blazing Sun is essentially a film about desire in various forms. At the heart of the film is a romance budding between two young people, who find the only obstacle standing in their way is a long legacy of tension between their families, who have been competing for generations to acquire not only wealth, but dominance. They’re convinced their scorching passion can overcome this opposition – after all, it’s difficult to imagine either side would be unreasonable enough to let competition come in the way of one of life’s most fundamental joys. However, this is clearly not the case, since it intermingles with another kind of desire, that of the lust felt by many of these characters for wealth, with the general belief being held by all parties that only one of the two competitors can succeed, and when the one side demonstrates that they not only have the resources to get ahead, but also the headstrong hubris to do absolutely anything to succeed, it becomes a clear case of a one-sided battle, with their competitors inevitably becoming victims to the perverted games of chance perpetuated by their opponents, which leads to the third kind of desire, the one where someone has been driven beyond the pale, and is now seeking retribution – and whether its a way of forwarding their own specific agenda, or extracting vengeance on someone who wronged them, there is nothing quite as intimidating as someone who has been scorned to the point where their only feasible option is brutal revenge. It’s not an original approach, but it’s one that Chahine convincingly makes his own, taking the story in some unexpected directions and leaving us in awe at the decisions he makes when constructing this narrative, which we can never truly predict, since it manages to surprise us at nearly every turn.

Driven less by its plot, and more by a distinct and complex atmosphere, The Blazing Sun is always fascinating, even when it’s treading through familiar territory. It’s not particularly political insofar as having a specific agenda, but instead presents us with two very different sides of a story, and showcasing the tensions that arise as a result of competition between them. It’s a daring and complex manifesto on human desire, whether it be for romance, wealth or revenge – and through both his fascinating approach to the story, and his ability to create some truly unforgettable images, Chahine proves his importance in both the history of African filmmaking, and world cinema as a whole.  In terms of being a social commentary, it is an intimate and poignant exploration of very clear themes, done in the form of a thrilling psychological thriller that crosses many different genres and samples liberally from all of them, while still being very original in its own perspective. Complex, disquieting and beautifully made, The Blazing Sun is a fascinating achievement, and a worthwhile entry into one of the more underrated canons of a true cinematic master, who deserves to be far more loved for his many captivating films, rather than the one masterpiece that has defined his career, since even when working in entirely different subjects, Chahine proved his importance on a global scale, and sets a foundation as one of the greatest social critics of his era, and a perspective that is not only fascinating, but entirely invaluable, as made abundantly clear by this scathing drama.