- Cairo Station (Bab el hadid)
8/25/24 (Sat)
Egyptian director Youssef Chahine’s 1958 neorealist work is hailed as a landmark in Arabic cinema. The Arabic title translates to “The Iron Door”, but I think the English title is quite good given the dynamics of the setting with its raucous mix of rich and poor, the old guard and the new, and a number of overlapping stories among characters with their various aims. The story focuses on the poor workers scrambling to make a living in the station, though the poverty is less the point here than just background information. Amid the constant traffic of unknown people to unknown spots, they have formed something of a community offering mutual support.
sekenbanashi 