A Polyphonic Adaptation: Noir Sensibilities in Naguib Mahfouz and Salah Abu Seif’s Take on Émile Zola’s "Thérèse Raquin"

Authors

Fadi Awad ElSaid, University of Connecticut

Keywords

Adaptation, Polyphony, Egyptian Realism, Film Noir, Femme Fatale, Arabic Crime Film, Egyptian Film Before 1952, French Novel in Egyptian Film, Naguib Mahfouz, Salah Abu Seif, Émile Zola.

Document Type

Article

Abstract

In 1951, Salah Abu-Seif directed Lak Yūm yā ẓālim (Your Day Is Coming),

scripted by Naguib Mahfouz and adapting Émile Zola’s Thérèse Raquin (1867).

In their third collaboration, Abu-Seif and Mahfouz go beyond merely adapting

Zola’s novel; they also incorporate film noir techniques, creating what this article

terms a polyphonic adaptation that navigates multiple sources. While their

partnership is primarily credited with pioneering realism in Egyptian cinema, this

article argues that the film’s crime thriller elements warrant a reassessment of

this view. Although French novel adaptations were common in pre-1952 Egyptian

cinema, their selection of Thérèse Raquin—a novel central to the post-WWII

transcultural noir sensibility—suggests that film noir’s connection to Egyptian

cinema is both earlier and more profound than generally assumed

Recommended Citation

ElSaid, Fadi Awad (2025) "A Polyphonic Adaptation: Noir Sensibilities in Naguib Mahfouz and Salah Abu Seif’s Take on Émile Zola’s "Thérèse Raquin"," Regards: Vol. 33: No. 33, Article 3.
Available at: https://e-journals.usj.edu.lb/regards/vol33/iss33/3