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Adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name, The Yacoubian Building in the city of Cairo embodies every aspect of Egypt's capital, from its architecture and history, to its complex labyrinth of stories exploring love and power, sex and politics. Crossing a spectrum of classes, characters, families and narratives, debut director Marwan Hamed's beautiful adaptation of Dr Alaa Al Aswany's novel, turns one of Cairo's oldest buildings into an intricate depiction of the city at broad-reaching levels of the social and emotional scale. Tackling everything from Islamic fundamentalism to homosexuality and corruption, 'The Yacoubian Building' gives us a lively, sometimes harsh and often funny look at modern Egyptian society.
Review
Consistently compelling --Empire Magazine
A revealing window into the secular world of a modern Islamic country. --The Hollywood Reporter
A lovely and thoughtful film. --Time Out
A revealing window into the secular world of a modern Islamic country. --The Hollywood Reporter
A lovely and thoughtful film. --Time Out
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
One of the most watchable Egyptian Movies. This excellent black drama is a must see despite its nearly three-hour running time, the movie is one of the most watchable and enjoyable pieces of art in Egyptian Cinema. I didn't read the story before seeing that controversial movie, so I had low expectations. But despite that, got hooked as early as the quality intro that takes you smoothly through an enjoyable ride to discover the background behind that nostalgic building in central Cairo through a Sepia short clip. The film is an artistic black drama which is full of cultural and political symbolism if you read carefully between the lines, my interpretation is that the building is a clear symbol of the country itself and how it transformed dramatically from the nostalgic early days of the 40s till the present day, shedding light on the price that the Egyptian society had to pay during that rough trip, and how the society has clear double standards that everyone is trying to ignore.
Every side story evolves in a different direction and involves controversial characters who are linked only by the same building (society) in some way or the other, the different stories are interweaved in an artistic way to dramatize different controversial issues and taboos from adultery, political corruption, homosexuality to Islamic fundamentalism.
The movie has a general sad feel around it especially for anyone who lived in Egypt as it touches on the deterioration and many negative issues that are becoming more and more the norm in most Egyptian society levels that was once a conservative and religious society.
It is strong wakeup call to those who love their country to stop burying their heads in the sand when it comes to double standards that's affecting everyone in the society making everyone feel inferior to the country. The story could make you think deeply about how and why a country like Egypt could end up where it is today.
The cinematography, steady cams, crane camera movement is brilliant, the smooth cuts and soft transitions boosts the romantic dimension of the storyline. As expected, the music score by Khaled Hammad is expressive, romantic and adds a lot of depth to many scenes. The tempo of the movie is just right, giving enough time for actors to express their feelings through longer than usual shots that will never leave you bored. Action scenes are also very well done.
A must see piece of art for anyone who is living or used to live in Egypt.
Every side story evolves in a different direction and involves controversial characters who are linked only by the same building (society) in some way or the other, the different stories are interweaved in an artistic way to dramatize different controversial issues and taboos from adultery, political corruption, homosexuality to Islamic fundamentalism.
The movie has a general sad feel around it especially for anyone who lived in Egypt as it touches on the deterioration and many negative issues that are becoming more and more the norm in most Egyptian society levels that was once a conservative and religious society.
It is strong wakeup call to those who love their country to stop burying their heads in the sand when it comes to double standards that's affecting everyone in the society making everyone feel inferior to the country. The story could make you think deeply about how and why a country like Egypt could end up where it is today.
The cinematography, steady cams, crane camera movement is brilliant, the smooth cuts and soft transitions boosts the romantic dimension of the storyline. As expected, the music score by Khaled Hammad is expressive, romantic and adds a lot of depth to many scenes. The tempo of the movie is just right, giving enough time for actors to express their feelings through longer than usual shots that will never leave you bored. Action scenes are also very well done.
A must see piece of art for anyone who is living or used to live in Egypt.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
this is a movie that deals with very sensitive issues in the Arabic society of Egypt. Corruption, homosexuality, adultery, drug trade, are the main issues that are dealt with. Yacoubian building is the place that symbolizes the modern society, which is reflected by certain types of individuals, the Basha, who has a noble family name, and is unaware of his reality any more and cannot find himself anywhere except in bed with different women, and with bottles of wine. The character is played excellently by Adel Imam, one of Egypt's best superstar actors. Then we have the highly successful journalist, who leads one of Egypt's most successful news papers, he has the money, has everything, but his sexuality is his downfall, as he turns out to be homosexual, and tries hard not to give this image about himself, he is always in a struggle, which eventually leads to his demise. Then we have the car dealer, a multi-millionaire who tries to show himself as a virtuous man, but he is a symbol of corruption, and a drug dealer who does not stop from doing anything to keep his business going. There are many other types of individuals, each has his story to tell, and each is a part of the building, that combine all these strange cases together.
Now, the themes themselves are very sensitive issues in the Arabic society, and you hardly find a movie that deals so blatantly with ideas like homosexuality for instance, as it is highly taboo. This is an advantage in the favor of this movie. The acting is excellent, the movie combines a great selection of Egypt's star actors. What I did not like about it, is that sometimes it does get repetitive, and it tends to exaggerate things in order to achieve credibility.
The ending is good, not unexpected, but still interesting. I think it has been a while since I have seen such a good Egyptian movie, which at some points is disturbing, and gets you thinking. I think you have to watch this movie, it is quite good.
Now, the themes themselves are very sensitive issues in the Arabic society, and you hardly find a movie that deals so blatantly with ideas like homosexuality for instance, as it is highly taboo. This is an advantage in the favor of this movie. The acting is excellent, the movie combines a great selection of Egypt's star actors. What I did not like about it, is that sometimes it does get repetitive, and it tends to exaggerate things in order to achieve credibility.
The ending is good, not unexpected, but still interesting. I think it has been a while since I have seen such a good Egyptian movie, which at some points is disturbing, and gets you thinking. I think you have to watch this movie, it is quite good.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This movie is an amazing portrayal of the hypocrisy and corruption that many countries suffer from. It follows the lives of different individuals who happen to live in different parts of the same apartment building. It shows some tenants basking in wealth, while others, who live on the roof, live a life of poverty.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Nice quality.
I'm not reviewing the film itself, just making some comments about the quality and content of the DVD and noting some errors in the product description. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Julian Hughes
Masterpiece
This is an unsentimental - but also affectionate - portrait of contemporary Egypt using an array of stories whose common thread is that one or more of the charcaters live in the... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Hamsun
good film, but no subtitles
when publishing that it is in ENGLISH or at least with subtitles, then please deliver.
Subtitles is not working.
2005 DVD version.
Subtitles is not working.
2005 DVD version.
Published 19 months ago by Torben Johansen
FANTASTIC!
This film is brilliant.
I read the book first and -unlike many transfers of book to film - the film does not disappoint. Read more
I read the book first and -unlike many transfers of book to film - the film does not disappoint. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Athena Devon
Read and watch The Yacoubian Building
I saw the premier of this adaptation of Alaa Al Aswany's book at its premier in Leicester Square. I recall either the author being present or Marwan Hamed to take questions from... Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2009 by D. Haigh
No subtitles !!!!
Here's another person very disappointed at no subtitles. I also liked the book very much and was really looking forward to watching this. Read more
Published on 20 May 2009 by Belly dancer
No subtitles!!
I was really looking forward to seeing this film,missed it on BBC4,as they showed it one weekday evening. Read more
Published on 18 April 2009 by C. Y. Winter
Egyptian epic
A truely great film...highly entertaining and diverse storylines and characters.
Although I have entitled this review as an Egyptian epic it probably has more in common with... Read more
Although I have entitled this review as an Egyptian epic it probably has more in common with... Read more
Published on 15 April 2009 by P. Vance
Epic and very moving
I had had no preconceptions about this film and was amazed at how good it is. It caught my attention from the beginning and by the end I felt I'd witnessed a truly great film. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2009 by Bluebell
Looks good, but no subtitles! (Update: there is a subtitled version...
I liked the book a lot, so I was looking forward to watch this movie. It was a disappointment to me. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2009 by Markus S
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