She says "bonne nuit" (French for "Good night")
To which he replies "bonne nuit 3ala kheir"...
How on earth to translate this!
In Arabic the nightly greeting is "tesba7o 3ala kheir" (may you wake up on something good).
So the Franco-Arab mish mash is expressed so well in that scene!!!
Other such expressions include "merci elak" (the "thank you" goes to you), "missik ana" (I miss you - said easily between girls), "askas festan" (the "sexiest" dress).... This leads us to Deborah Phares' book Madmozel which compiles excellent expressions like this!
For the annecdote, do look at these from my own book: Ensaclopedia Libanica (published in 2011 with Fadi Chahine) - you can consult the book for free on the link.
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| All images copyright Tarek Chemaly/Fady Chahine |