Analysis of Cairo Station by Youssef Chahine. Movie Review

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Analysis of Cairo Station by Youssef Chahine.
Film analysis is the process of examining a film in terms of the stylistic devices that the filmmakers used to ensure that the film runs the way it does. Right after its official launch and release in 1958, the film Cairo Station by Youssef Chahine did not receive airplay that it deserved till after two decades in Egypt when it was identified as a masterpiece. After watching the film, nearly half a century now, it is obvious why the audience hated it in the first place. The film covers all aspects of outward depiction of lust, mental problems and psychosis and jealousy among other vices in a typical society. This text serves to analyze the film in terms of stylistic devices used in the film, thematic implications of its numerous scenes and cinematography in relation to the political and social state of the nation under the rule of General Nasir and Egypt being a British colony during the time (Chapter 6. Consolidating Arab Nationalism: The Emergence Of II Arab Egypt 137).
Firstly, regarding cinematography, especially color, the film was shot monochrome or in a single one-handed color which was, in layman’s language, black and white. This makes the film fall into its designated narration as a classic piece of more than fifty years where the technique required extensive energy for full and significant shooting. The monochrome technique relates to the era in which the film was made where the same analog tinting was used in the production of World War motion pictures and photographs. Additionally, the film was shot using a single still camera tripod where the camera was effectively and essentially fixed in one position during the shot and whenever the objects in the shot were in motion, the camera was placed on a moving vehicle (Lecture #2. Topics in World Cinema: The Arab World and Africa 54).
Secondly, in terms of narrative analysis, the film follows the Three-Act narrative structure and the typical dramatic literature structure to relate...