World Cinema Series

Cairo Station / Bab el hadid
Dir: Youssef Chahine
1958 / Egypt / 74 min / 35 mm / PG
(in Arabic with English subtitles)

Denounced by Egyptian audiences when it was first released in 1958, Youssef Chahine's Cairo Station was banned by the authorities for twelve years and was only later rediscovered and recognised as one of the first, great masterpieces of Egyptian cinema.

Incorporating elements of neo-realism, melodrama, comedy and film noir, Cairo Station uses the location of Cairo’s central station to represent a cross-section of the Egyptian society caught in a collision between tradition and modernity. The film features shots of Egyptian women in both Hijabs and tight Capri pants and stalls that sell American junk food alongside traditional Arab sweets. In one scene, the sight of teenagers drinking Coca-Cola and dancing provokes a Muslim cleric to proclaim, “All of these newfangled ideas lead to hell.”

The story recounts the doomed passion of a crippled newspaper seller Kinawi, played by Chahine himself, who decorates his shabby cabin with pictures of scantily clad women. Kinawi falls in love with Hanuma, a voluptuous soft-drink seller. However, Hanuma is engaged to the tough and hardworking porter Abu Sri, who is attempting to set up a union for exploited railway workers. When Kinawi tries to woo Hanuma with an offer of a simple life in the village with cows and children, she rebukes him with the line, "We've gotten used to trains and noise." Hanuma’s rejection and her unrestrained sexuality inadvertently enflames Kinawi’s obsession and further weakens his grip on reality. He descends into a spiral of jealousy, psychosis and violence.

Made in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, Cairo Station is a striking commentary on the duality and division in Egyptian society of that time. It had a huge influence on African and Arab cinema, introducing neo-realism into an industry previously dominated by musicals. The film was nominated for a Golden Bear at the 1958 Berlin International Film Festival.

WHEN

9 October '07, 7.30pm

WHERE

Gallery Theatre

ADMISSION FEE

$8 / $6.40 concession
Free admission for Singapore Film Society members