A discussion of Youssef Chahine's An Egyptian Story, the second part of his Alexandria Trilogy, and one which is self-reflexive on his career thus far, highlighting Cairo Station, Saladin, Jamila The Algerian, Un jour le nil, The Sparrow and other of his films. We trace recurring patterns: the type of mise-en-scène, the use of Shakespeare, the references to American musicals, the deployment of a repertory company of actors, a homosexual element, a social critique matched by an auto-critique -- it's a film in which Chahine puts himself on trial -- and a more inventive, imaginative and personal dramatisation that interestingly deploys expressionist and surrealist elements.
