Movie Review: The Yacoubian Building (Omaret Yakobean)

Screened as part of the International Narrative program at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival, “The Yacoubian Building” is “General Hospital” set in Egypt; a two hour plus incursion into all that ails, and bestirs, today’s Egyptian men and women. The men are frustrated, obsessive, humiliated and on the verge of ruination and the woman are downtrodden, sullied, heartbroken and unappreciated.On one level this is a near perfect soap opera that uses the leverage of cultural difference to push well within the hallowed boundaries of camp. Even better, its heated treatment of illicit and homosexual sex pushes far beyond the expected envelope of Islamic taboo. Based on the best-selling novel by Alaa' Al-Aswany, “Yacoubian” is the best thing in Egypt since “Lonesome Dove.”If little more than American soap on the sands of Cairo, “Yacoubian” is not a cheap production. The filming, sets and costumes are lavish, the cast are the stars of the country and the cinematography is luxuriant. Although this is the breakthrough work for director Marwan Hamed, half of the leading actors and actresses claim credits totaling well upwards of a hundred. Each scene is carefully constructed and the sound track is grandly orchestrated.When playboy pasha Zaki gets rolled by the prostitute and looses his harridan sister Dawlat’s diamond ring in the process, there is no question that the hummus is going to hit the fan. The strings come in like that first night of love and camera rushes to Zaki’s face like bullets from a firing squad. The Yacoubian Building actually exists in downtown Cairo. It was built as a luxurious apartment by the wealthiest of the wealthy Armenian community. Instead of a penthouse, the rooftop held a maze of small apartments for the servants in the building. Over the years the grand old building suffered at the hands of changing times and changing neighborhoods. Few of the residents could afford servants and the rooftop units rented to the city’s poor and working classes. Thus was formed the perfect microcosm for urban drama: the haves and the have-nots under one roof.Adel Imam plays the fading son of a famous Egyptian hero, ensconced in the sumptuous apartment paid for with his inheritance. He lives with his nagging sister Dawlat played by Issad Younis. An accomplished actor and comedian and a household word in Egypt, Imam was the first actor to accept anti-terrorist roles at a time when Egypt was gripped in its own lethal struggle against terrorism. This is his 118th film in over thirty years of work. Hind Sabry is originally from Tunisian and plays the part of Bothayna, the beautiful but very poor woman striving to support her family while being stalked by Malak the tailor. She lives on the roof of the building in the servant’s quarters and is forced from one job to another as she sees her virtue slowly being drained by the city and its demands. Malak the tailor (Ahmed Bedir) uses her to get to dissipating Zaki for the purpose of stealing his apartment. Mohamed Imam plays Taha El Shazly, the son of the Yacoubian doorman. Taha grasps religious extremism after he is refused entrance into the police academy because of his working class roots and is brutally abused after being arrested at a demonstration.Khaled El Sawy is Hatem Rashid a homosexual journalist who seduces country boy Bassem Samra with promises of support for his wife and sick son.If writers Alaa' Al-Aswany and Wahid Hamid have missed anything here, it was not that important anyway. If lacking in edginess and indie creativity, “The Yacoubian Building” is entertaining due to the shear magnitude of the undertaking. It is as sprawling as the land of the pyramids and as universal as vaudeville.