Omaret yakobean

This is a highly sophisticated adaptation of the very famous Egyptian novel. The film bursts with big Egyptian stars and has a screenplay that is both strong, modern and highly moving. The film is daring and the performances are uniformally excellent in addition to a lovely soundtrack. This film shows why the Egyptian film industry is the best in the Arab speaking world and is highly recommended for any one interested to be introduced to modern Egyptian cinema.

The Yackobian Building, originally written and published as a novel by influential Egyptian novelist Alaa Al Aswany, remains a breakthrough film and an introduction to a new era of filmmaking in Egypt. An era where all societal taboo's are widely discussed and debated. And while Egypt remains far from an advocate of "free speech" and opinion, the past five years have seen a vast improvement and a wide variety of societal issues are continuely being discussed and introduced in productions. Th

I think the nifty camera work deviously tricks you into thinking this is a good film. Similar to many Bollywood films, Yacoubian Building attempts to explore too many themes and mostly comes across convoluted and rediculous. Its unity within the building fails in its lack of subjectivity and most of the poignant moments fall flat. Nevertheless, I found myself warming to it about half-way through as the ensemble develops depth, with - at times - artistic integrity and genuinely wise insight.