The film Cairo Station, directed by Youssef Chahine, details the story of a poor cripple named Qinawi (and played by Chahine) who fruitlessly moons after a woman called Hanouma. Inevitably, she rejects him, then he starts to go mad and plans a murder. The film, for its time, was incredibly new and unique in the way it did not focus on happiness and the upper class but instead on the darker aspects of Egypt at the time. Chahine uses the front of the cinema to bring to attention many social issues including that of poverty and that of the class divide. He develops these issues throughout both plots, the obvious one following Qinawi and his deterioration and the less followed one covering the issues with the labor union.
First, Chahine calls our attention to the class divide using the example of the labor union. A journalist from Mada Masr points out, ” Chahine cared about making a movie that would remind people that there was still injustice and work to do about it” (Ania). The scene where Abu Sarii, the main leader of the union movement, has an argument with his boss about their working conditions and pay. He argues that no one who is actually doing the work gets any real wages while the boss, who does little to no work, gets all the money. In this scene, the argument is kicked off by a man who has had his hand crushed and now faces an unfortunate dilemma thanks to the class divide. He is now unable to work and thus cannot be paid and support his family while the boss could help him but chooses not to do so in his greed. Chahine uses this scene to enunciate his concerns about greed and what it is doing to the wealthy people in how they treat the less wealthy.
Next, Chahine uses the main plot, where Qinawi constantly chases Hanouma, to elaborate on his commentary concerning poverty. The scene which exemplifies this best is when Qinawi reveals his plans to marry Hanouma. He details this master plan, which he appears to have been contemplating for some time, to her and she leads him on and on until the very end where she denies him by saying something along these lines, “With what? Are you going to carry out this plan with your pennies?” Essentially she is choosing Abu Sarii, a relatively wealthy man, over Qinawi who has only “pennies.” While there are likely many other reasons she does not choose Qinawi, Chahine picks the one most useful to his argument, in that he is poor and poor people cannot support anyone, including themselves.
While the commentary Chahine offered on the class divide and poverty in Egypt was profound and accurate in 1958, it continues to be relevant today. According to VOA news, “One in three Egyptians is living in poverty . . . and it is said that 6.2% of Egyptians live in extreme poverty” (Press). So profound was Chahine’s message that it eventually achieved the timelessness of truly great films like the one it is.
Works Cited
Press, Associated. Egypt: A Third of Population Lives in Poverty. Voice of America, www.voanews.com/middle-east/egypt-third-population-lives-poverty.
Shahine, Youssef. “Cairo Station.” For the Love of Film (Noir) – Cairo Station, The Culturist, www.theculturist.com/home/for-the-love-of-film-noir-cairo-station.html.Ania, Andeel.
“Egypt’s Cinematic Gems: Cairo Station.” Mada Masr, madamasr.com/en/2014/09/13/feature/culture/egypts-cinematic-gems-cairo-station/.
Through an Arabic Lens: the Intersection of Film and Culture 