Movie Review: Cairo Station

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Movie Review- Cairo Station
Youssef Chahine's Cairo Station, or "Bab el Hadid," tells the story of a disabled newspaper vendor obsessed with a soft-drink peddler, but she rejects his advances, and he attempts murder. The story is set in a train station in Cairo, Egypt, and the film was produced in 1958 (Chahine). The story is set in an urban setting. The director also shows people's daily struggles and the struggle to reconcile views about the place of women in society in a changing urban scene. The film further explores Egypt's political and social transformations. Chahine succeeds in reflecting the realities of Egyptian life while also exploring the country's social, political, and economic situation.
The choice of train station reflects the rapid changes in Egypt in the late 1950s, but the people were also reluctant to embrace change. The urban setting with female vendors vastly differs from the rural areas where women are mostly homemakers. Among the recurring themes are the urban working class, gender-based violence, voyeurism, sexual repression, and women's objectification. 1950s Egypt is a conservative society, but more people had started migrating to Cairo to look for work. Still, there are clashes between the monopolists and illegal workers around the train station and between modernity and traditional values. There is also a difference in class between the characters, and their wealthier youngsters seem to have more freedom, unlike the working class. 
Chahine focuses on the role of Qinawi, a disabled news vendor pursuing Hanouma, a soft-drink seller, but the poor man does not take kindly to being rejected by the ...