• A superb film from Egyptian director Youssef Chahine—fast-paced, engaging, and turns into a wonderful thriller with an edge in the final act
  • It is edited like a Capra’s It Happened One Night (we have a lot of fast motion photography here actually)- low average shot length, and dialogue just as witty—but the subject matter material turns into something much heavier- again, it starts off with the witty light dialogue but turns into a Hitchcockian or Peeping Tom-like thriller about obsession
  • Set in the titular location- a busy train station that matches (and aids) the films energy— a bustle to the crowd

Set in the titular location- a busy train station that matches (and aids) the films energy— a bustle to the crowd

  • Shots from Chahine’s (he is the lead character as well as director) point of view gives us insight into his fixation on the shapely Hind Rustum character and eventual madness
  • At 37 minutes a shot of Chahine’s character on the front left of the frame, with a man egging on the Farid Shawqi character beating his fiancée (Rustum’s character) in the back right- a great deep focus frame
  • Extreme close-ups of Chahine’s darting eyes – showing his damaged psyche—same with the exaggerated sound design as evidence that he’s losing his mind. This would make Hitchcock proud— Aronofsky would do it in Pi – you don’t just tell us a character is in a certain state of mind- you use cinema style

extreme close-ups of Chahine’s darting eyes – showing his damaged psyche—same with the exaggerated sound design as evidence that he’s losing his mind. This would make Hitchcock proud— Aronofsky would do it in Pi – you don’t just tell us a character is in a certain state of mind- you use cinema style

  • Chahine smartly uses a narrative device – a news article about a murder as gossip by the ensemble at the train station throughout the film – great foreshadowing but it also has an effect (part of the recipe)  on the mental makeup of his character
  • another genius narrative device is the girl waiting for her husband/lover/boyfriend at the station as well– she doesn’t really speak– it parallels and contrasts with the Chaine character- I think it is a statement by Chaine meditating on the thin line between love and obsession

another genius narrative device is the girl waiting for her husband/lover/boyfriend at the station as well– she doesn’t really speak– it parallels and contrasts with the Chaine character- I think it is a statement by Chaine meditating on the thin line between love and obsession 

  • Impressive deep focus shot at 43 minutes- a man front left of the frame facing the camera, another front right of the frame in profile—just designing the frame- neither speaks—the two that are actually in dialogue are in the middle middle (location on frame and depth) and middle right (location on frame) background (depth)
  • Again the last 15 minutes is a strong thriller—kicked off but Chaine’s character destroying his shrine room- a disturbing scene
  • A tight 77 minutes
  • Highly Recommend- top 10 of the year quality film