The Yacoubian Building
by Marwan Hamed
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Adel Imam, Ahmed Bedir, Ahmed Rateb, Nour El Sherif, YousraDirector: Marwan Hamed
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Arabic (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 165 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-01-29
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Strand Releasing
Movie Reviews of The Yacoubian Building
Movie Review: A fantastic film!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you are ever going to take an interest in Egyptian or even Arabic film you may want to start with this one. Some may argue look at some of the "Classics" But I have found a great many of those are either poor imitations of Western films or so over the top they are just simply hard to sit through for a Western audience. This film however is very different.
Based upon the book of the same name by in my opinion one of the best writers currently out there in the Arab world its the story of the various people who inhabit the Yacoubian Building. In some ways its a microcosm of Egypt itself (I have no doubt thats what the author intended) All the lives of the people are somehow interwoven while at the same time sepparate in their own little way. Apparently this film was quite revolutionary when it came out because it was one of the few times that a homosexual Arab was shown in an Arab movie (That being one who was not a comedy sidekick or something) So to the characters. We have the wealthy "Pasha" Who has inherited land and lives a hedonistic life of drink and picking up women in whatever bar he can. Old enough to know better but has little else to do with his life. His sister, bitter at life and resentful of her brother who at least accecpts who he is and makes the most of if. A newspaper editor who at the same time is a homosexual who has to find partners amongst the undesirables of Egypt who soon falls in love with a night watchman who he moves in with his family to the roof of the building. Also on the roof is a young man and lady who are promised to be married whose lives soon take different directions one turning to God after his rejection from the police and another finding that a single woman trying to work in Egypt is easier said than done and last of all a wealthy Egyptian Islamist who is now seeking political power.
I am sure there will be some who will find complaint with the characters shown in this film but anyone who has lived in the Middle East can vouch for the corruption shown in this film and also for much of the misogynist behaviour in it not to mention to schizophrenic attitude to homosexuality. The characters are shown in a very sympathetic light even the young mans movement to religious extremism something highly unusual even in Western film almost unheard of in Arabic film. I found the acting in this film quite good. For the most part I thought many of the characters carried off the books characters quite well and I very quickly found myself identifying with the characters I had read in the novel with those I was now seeing on screen. In fact what I would recommend is that you read the novel first and then watch the film. As a few previous reviewers have pointed out the film does change slightly from the book but I dont think it does too much that it would seriously detract from the film.
All in all I highly enjoyed this film and strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to really get to know Arab society.
Summary of The Yacoubian Building
An eye-catching construction, the Yacoubian Building in Cairo was long regarded as the last word in comfort and elegance. Nowadays the veneer has cracked and the shine has dulled to reveal the truth underneath the façade. Through interwoven stories of a number of the residents, the film paints a portrait of corruption, fundamentalism, prostitution, homosexuality, and drugs in central Cairo and creates a vibrant but socially critical picture of contemporary Egypt.Similar DVD Movies
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