I get the influence of All the President’s Men and it just sort of glided over me. There’s a lot I can appreciate about it but I was mostly bored by the repetition. I was hoping for more. As for Cairo Station, I liked it! Just didn’t blow me away or anything. Felt like a pretty straightforward Hitchcockian Egyptian film.
Oh I think it's got a lot more going on than that, personally. It's got some of the Italian neo-realism and what guys like Satjayit Ray were doing in its wake while also having the really full frames of like Casablanca or a von Sternberg, plus the Hitchcock-ish elements.
That’s interesting! I definitely want to see more of Chahine’s films. Maybe the next one will click more for me.