The film, which is known internationally under the title Cairo Station or Gare Central, was interpreted in 1958 by press and public as an insult and the première turned into a scandal. The film provides a warts-and-all picture of the life of young people in modern Cairo and that was not appreciated. These days it is regarded as a classic of film history, but Chahine is still seen as the enfant terrible of Middle-Eastern cinema.Chahine fits in well with the Cinema Narcissus theme because he acts in his films, but also because his films are autobiographical. Iskindiriah kaman oue kaman / Alexandrie, encore et toujours (screened last year in Rotterdam, and hence not this time around) was the completion of such an autobiographical trilogy in which he acted himself.Chahine does not regard acting just a body or a face, but a total personality. That is why he thought that in this specific film, the actor (himself) could not be exchanged for a different one. He wanted to surrender himself totally for this film and his way of stressing this was to put himself on the line, literally.
