简介：Oneofhismostcontroversialfilms,THESPARROWwaswrittenbyChahineincollaborationwithavant-gardistLoftiel-Kholi.Setduringthe1967SixDayWarbetweenIsraelandtheUnitedArabRepublicthisstoryoffamilialandnationaldivisionshasbecomeoneofChahine'smostpopularfilmsinfestivalsandretrospectives.Ayoungpoliceman'sadoptivefatheroccupiesahighpostintheforce,whilehisbiologicalfatherisreputedtohavebeenaleft-wingactivist.Raoufbeginstosearchforthosewhomighthaveknownhisrealfather,whilehishalf-brother,stationedontheSinaifront,preparesforbattle. TheSparrow(El‘Osfour)wasbannedinMay1973,thenreceivedinDecemberofthesameyearthecountry’shighestculturalaward.Moreimportantly,however,isthatstartingfromTheSparrow(El‘Osfour),Chahinedepartedfromtheconventionalmainstreamcinemaofhistimeanddevelopedhisownindividualstyle,henceemergingasapioneerinthisrespect;insteadofusingalinearplot,hedisplayedanewlikingforfragmentedforms,discontinuousnarratives,andrandom-seemingcollagesofdisparatematerialsuchasflashbacks,actualevents,associationsanddocumentarysequences.Theoverallresultoftheseshiftswastheinceptionofanewphaseinhisfilmswhichwasdedicatedtoexperimentationandinnovation.…