Cairo Station (1958) VHS AFD 023

(Spoiler alert)

The urban poor of post-colonial Egypt stand at the center of Joussef Chahine’s dark masterpiece, Cairo Station. The characters central to the story remain in focus for the entire film, while the hectic setting of Cairo’s main train station bustles around them. The constantly shifting, moving surroundings reflect the themes of movement, change and the mixing of cultures which appear in the film. Western clothing, dress, ideas are all presented in passing within the station and on its trains, themselves a product of British colonialism. Meanwhile, distinctly traditional social groups cluster within the structure and maintain closely knit communities. From Islamic religious figures to women’s rights groups, a wealth of different, conflicting characters and attitudes appear, usually in passing and often with unclear messages and relations to the western technologies surrounding them.

When addressing the issue of the portrayal of western culture within the film, there exists an ambivalence which is not easily resolved or understood. Clearly the western-style train station, as a harbor for the urban poor and as the primary means of transportation within Cairo, maintains the livelihood of many characters within the film. Yet it is the portrayals of women, and female sexuality in a typically western magazine-fashion that drives the main character, Qinawi, into obsession and eventual insanity. This could clearly be interpreted as a criticism of the western willingness to portray sexuality in order to turn profit, and the means by which sexuality, specifically western-style sexuality, can become dangerous, or lead to violent mental illness.

If western standards of sexuality are to be seen as dangerous for an Egyptian man, then the film’s social commentary rests on the negative impact of western influences, yet if we see Qinawi as simply an unstable character from the beginning, who was merely susceptible to any violent influences, the social commentary lightens. After Qinawi’s employer, Farid, mentions a brutal murder in Egypt, Qinawi quickly changes his mood, quieting down and becomes visibly uneasy. Clearly this news influences Qinawi, and he leaves quickly to buy a large knife to develop his violent plans. This action does directly not support the argument that western influences were corrupting Qinawi, rather it implies that he needed only the idea of violence in order to commit murder. Furthermore, one of the few and short-lived joyous moments in the film is fueled by Hanuma dancing with western style rockabilly musicians on a train. In this scene, the music and the cheerful dancing counters the uneasy gaze of Qinawi, as Hanuma clearly attempts to neutralize tensions with the deranged man through offering him free soda. To this end western influences can be seen in a more positive light, where music and dance lightens to mood and lifts the character’s spirits.

Joussef Chahine’s complex portrayal of insanity within the post-colonial urban context defies simple categorization, leaving the viewer with a wealth of possible interpretations. I find that this film directly depicts modern Egypt without a specific negative or positive agenda, while maintaining a highly critical eye that focuses on the modern activities of lower-class Egyptians.