Between Heaven and Earth Salah Abu Seif (Egypt, 1960)

The Nobel Prize winner did not suffice with his novels being adapted into the screen. His interest in cinema -evident in how frequent it comes up in his work- made it a natural transition for Mahfouz to co-write his first screenplay Mughamarat Antar was Abla with director Salah Abu Seif in 1948. Between his attachment to this new medium and his commitment to literature comes Between Heaven and Earth, Mahfouz’s pioneering experiment with a new position: Cinematic Story Writer.

Produced in 1960, Between Heaven and Earth permeates the post-1952 revolution brisk society, through the story of a group of strangers caught in a jammed elevator, and despite their widely dissimilar stances and objectives, they are forced to share the same fate. Amongst the characters is a woman about to give birth, a man about to die, a pickpocket, a madman, a famous actress, a snobbish aristocrat and a proud doorman amidst others.

The ensemble cast of B-class actors and stars like Hind Rostom and Mahmoud El-Meliguy are being trapped physically in the same location for the whole shooting period, summoning in a way the main theme of innovative collaboration evident in the process of making this film. Being the second collaboration between Abu Seif and Mahfouz, the story witnesses more landmarks imported from Mahfouz’s literature realm; the significance of the elevator beyond being just a place that hosts the story, the sociopolitical undertones and the condensed treatment for the idea of fate.

Between Heaven and Earth contains the unique mix between the narrative that adheres to the cinematic rhythm, and the detailed texture of characters and place specific to Mahfouz’s literature. The match between Salah Abu Seif’s realism, inspired by his direct contact with Italian neo realism, and Mahfouz’s naturalistic style helped make an inimitable film that stood the test of time.

By Mohamed Beshir