Cairo Station

A compassionate newsstand owner hires Qinawi to sell newspapers at Cairo's main train station. The job gives him a sense of purpose, but the crowded hub reveals that many women shun him because of his handicap. He learns to navigate social isolation while keeping his duties at the stall.

Qinawi becomes obsessed with Hannuma, the beautiful but aloof drink vendor. Hannuma is engaged to Abu Siri, a sturdy luggage porter who plans to organize his coworkers. Qinawi's longing grows into an all-consuming fantasy of a home with Hannuma.

Qinawi musters courage and proposes to Hannuma, but she rejects him, brushing aside his dreams. The rejection hardens his obsession and narrows his perception of her. The station's crowds remain indifferent as his fantasy begins to fracture.

Inspired by a news report of an unsolved murder, Qinawi buys a knife and begins to plot Hannuma's murder. He clings to the idea that violence might finally win him a place in her life. The plotting takes shape in the solitude of his room and the din of the station.

Qinawi hatches a plan to lure Hannuma to a warehouse to retrieve an incriminating drink bucket. Hannuma asks a friend to fetch it instead, foiling his immediate aim. He continues to scheme, chasing a vulnerable thread through the shadows.

In the darkness, Qinawi does not notice the substitution; he stabs the other woman repeatedly and hides the body in a wooden crate supposedly holding Hannuma's trousseau. He believes he has executed a necessary act to win her. The crate becomes part of a dangerous plan that spirals out of control.

Qinawi convinces Abu Siri to place the crate aboard a train bound for Hannuma's impending wedding. The act is meant to stage a discovery, but it also marks a point of no return for Qinawi. The train carries a crime that will soon threaten everyone involved.

The would-be victim is found alive and the station is alerted to an attempted murder. The initial blame falls on Abu Siri and his union drive, but Hannuma's ally identifies the real attacker. The truth begins to unravel, pointing to Qinawi's guilt.

Unaware of her near-death, Hannuma goes to retrieve her bucket and flees through the rail yard with Qinawi in pursuit. He presses a knife to her head to keep the crowd at bay as he closes in on her. The clamor of trains and shouting crowds amplifies the danger.

The newsstand owner tries to console Qinawi by promising he may marry Hannuma, coaxing him into wearing a wedding garment. He discovers, to his horror, that the garment is a straitjacket, not a wedding suit. The moment marks the collapse of his dream and the onset of confinement.

With the straitjacket binding his movements, Qinawi struggles as authorities arrive to arrest him. The crowd watches as the obsessive pursuer is led away from the station. The final capture underscores the tragedy of desire gone awry.

Hannuma remains safe but shaken, and the station bears the imprint of Qinawi's fixation. The community processes the fallout of the attempted murder and the tensions between mercy and menace. The film closes on a tense note about desire, violence, and social loneliness in a crowded hub.