Cairo Station

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Leaburn O Stands up well to the passage of time. This story about an outsider and his disturbing besotted obsession with a pretty lady, soon veers into dangerous territory. Seems quite a controversial topic for its day. Enjoyed it though as it felt very atmospheric. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Yeah, this was not for me. I couldn't believe any of it. Just all seemed incredibly fake, forced, and frenetic. The acting was very forced. some of it laughably bad; which more reviews would admit if they weren't all written by the same ilk that are afraid to knock anything of this kind to not seem out of touch or to not get this 'neorealism' (whatever that is). The cat was better than any of the humans. Is this some sort of Arabic 'Oh Mice and Men'? Of Madhhuul and Men? 2 stars Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review William L Egypt's lack of a particularly developed international film industry can be understood in part by historically limited opportunity - a monarchy that limited expression until its dissolution in 1952 was closely followed by a similar effect when the process was nationalized in 1966. But to say that there was no capable or interesting expression in the medium by Egyptian production teams, particularly in those intervening years, would likely be a mistake, and one film that has emerged in recent decades as a representative of that belief is Chahine's Cairo Station. A sexually charged thriller that focuses on repression and gender dynamics within a country undergoing social changes (an Egypt where characters weave between the statues of pharaohs while peddling Coca-Cola), the film is equal parts Hitchcock and Neorealist. Chahine brings together a diverse cast of individuals whose primary shared trait is the station itself, the lifeblood from which individuals earn a substantial or impoverished living, and uses the differences between them to illustrate class and social struggles peculiar to Egypt, as well as taking on an early attempt at disassociative gender roles, with his own character viewing Rostom's Hannuma as an idealized figure who must be altered when she doesn't adhere to the image he's crafted out of magazine cutouts. The two halves of the film (exploring organized labor and male/female relationships) feel relatively distinct from one another, and the former is not nearly as compellingly designed, but the ambition is certainly notable. The arguments over labor meetings just don't seem to strike the same chord as blood dripping out of a damaged shipping crate onto an oblivious attendant's shoe. With a who's who of midcentury Egyptian acting and production talent (particularly Chahine's own frustrated, delusional Qinawi), Cairo Station deserves a watch as a film with a domestic focus and theme, but a series of clearly international influences and an engaging narrative. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/31/21 Full Review georgan g Interesting from a cultural and film history perspective. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Brilliantly well directed. I loved how we had so many glimpses of so many different stories that just happened to occur around the central plot. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review david l Although definitely overly short in runtime and filled with too many characters, Cairo Station is nonetheless a very admirable film which is gorgeously shot, beautifully scored and all around a wonderfully old-fashioned, cinematic movie. The acting is good across the board, the main character is such a tragic figure easy to empathize with and the film deftly shifts genres from a romance to a social drama to a crime flick so well. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Cairo Station

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