This landmark Egyptian film was directed by Youssef
Chahine. Cinematography was by Alevise Orfanelli, dialogue was by
Mohammad Abu Youssef and the story and screenplay were by Abdel Hai
Adib. It is on film critic Ahmad Al-Hadari's 2007 list of the 100 most
important Egyptian films. Plot summary: Kinawy (Youssef Chahine) was
a hard-working newspaper seller at Cairo Station who suffered from a
physical handicap. He was always looking at the pictures of beautiful
women in the publications he sold. Hannouma (Hind Rostom) was an
attractive young woman who worked at Cairo Station selling ice cream
and leading a team of workers at the official canteen. She wanted to
live a free life and earn an honorable well-paid living. She wanted
to marry her fiance Abu Sari' (Farid Shawqi), the leader of the
porters and defender of their rights and interests. Sari' was a
straigtforward, tough guy who was loyal to his comrades and to his
love. Kinawy loved Hannouma with a love that knew no bounds. He
wanted her for himself and revealed his love to her. Hannouma thought
the first thing he wanted was her body to satisfy his lust, but he
convinced her he wanted to marry her and go away with her to a village
far from Cairo Station. At that time Abu Sari' was busy forming a
union for the porters and defending their right to a suitable wage,
medical care and help with emergencies. Then Kinawy suddenly
discovered the truth: Hannouma refused to marry him because she loved
Abu Sari'. He saw her in his arms and heard about her trip with him
to the village for marriage. Kinawy overcame his emotional burden and
decided to kill Hannouma. The people at Cairo Station realized Kinawy
had lost his mind and undertook under Abu Sari's leadership to save
Hannouma from her mad lover. At the last moment Hannouma was saved
from the killer's clutches and Cairo Station went back to its
tumultuous life.
