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EPIC TO INTIMATE IN `YACOUBIAN BUILDING'
by Lael Loewenstein, Special to The Times
Los Angeles Times
December 8, 2006 Friday
Home Edition
Erected in downtown Cairo in 1934, the Yacoubian apartment building
was one of the largest, most luxurious edifices of its day. Over the
years, however, the building fell into disrepair, and the rooftop
dwellings that had been used as servants' quarters were rented out
to the destitute and downtrodden. Torn between attempts to modernize
and entrenched Islamic tradition, Egypt saw soaring poverty.
Much as the edifice named for its Armenian builder came to represent
a cross-section of Egyptian society, "The Yacoubian Building" weaves
narrative strands into a dense, diverse tapestry, and the film by the
young director Marwan Hamed serves as a commentary on contemporary
Egypt -- with salient debates about religious fundamentalism, gender
roles, tradition versus modernity, homosexuality, political corruption,
even abortion. Coming from a culture where many of these topics are
taboo, it's nothing short of groundbreaking.
It's perhaps appropriate that a film about the residents of one ofthe
most expensive buildings of its era also happens to be thecostliest
Egyptian film. Just 28 when he made this, his firstfeature, Hamed
assembled a cast of some of Egypt's most celebratedactors (albeit
largely unknown to Western audiences). The script,adapted by veteran
screenwriter Waheed Hamed (the director's father)from the popular
novel by Alaa' Al Aswany, follows several disparatecharacters.
The Yacoubian's residents include Zaki Pasha (Adel Imam),
anover-the-hill playboy evicted from the family apartment by
hisoverbearing sister (Issad Younis); Hatem Rasheed (Khaled El
Sawy), agay newspaper editor who seduces a handsome young soldier
(BassemSamra); Haj Azzam (Nour El Sherif), a sexually frustrated,
outwardlyreligious millionaire who takes a young widow (Somaya El
Khashab) asa second wife but exposes his selfishness and hypocrisy
when heforces her to have an abortion; Taha (Mohamed Imam), a
roof-dwellingyouth who turns to religious extremism. Bridging the
tales, thelovely, desperately poor Bosnaina (Hind Sabry), leaves
her firstlove, Taha, when he becomes obsessed with Islam and finds
a jobworking for Zaki, who, newly chastened, is the first man to
treatBosnaina with respect.
Hamed balances these story lines with skill, elicits
credibleperformances from his cast, and deftly handles variations in
tone andscale. At times, the film, Egypt's official Oscar submission,
is epicin scope. At others, it's intimate and tender. At more than 2
1/2hours, "The Yacoubian Building" is nothing if not long. But it's
awindow into a culture that few of us get to see.
Unrated. Run time: 2 hours, 38 minutes. In Arabic with
Englishsubtitles. Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd. (323) 848-3500.
by Lael Loewenstein, Special to The Times
Los Angeles Times
December 8, 2006 Friday
Home Edition
Erected in downtown Cairo in 1934, the Yacoubian apartment building
was one of the largest, most luxurious edifices of its day. Over the
years, however, the building fell into disrepair, and the rooftop
dwellings that had been used as servants' quarters were rented out
to the destitute and downtrodden. Torn between attempts to modernize
and entrenched Islamic tradition, Egypt saw soaring poverty.
Much as the edifice named for its Armenian builder came to represent
a cross-section of Egyptian society, "The Yacoubian Building" weaves
narrative strands into a dense, diverse tapestry, and the film by the
young director Marwan Hamed serves as a commentary on contemporary
Egypt -- with salient debates about religious fundamentalism, gender
roles, tradition versus modernity, homosexuality, political corruption,
even abortion. Coming from a culture where many of these topics are
taboo, it's nothing short of groundbreaking.
It's perhaps appropriate that a film about the residents of one ofthe
most expensive buildings of its era also happens to be thecostliest
Egyptian film. Just 28 when he made this, his firstfeature, Hamed
assembled a cast of some of Egypt's most celebratedactors (albeit
largely unknown to Western audiences). The script,adapted by veteran
screenwriter Waheed Hamed (the director's father)from the popular
novel by Alaa' Al Aswany, follows several disparatecharacters.
The Yacoubian's residents include Zaki Pasha (Adel Imam),
anover-the-hill playboy evicted from the family apartment by
hisoverbearing sister (Issad Younis); Hatem Rasheed (Khaled El
Sawy), agay newspaper editor who seduces a handsome young soldier
(BassemSamra); Haj Azzam (Nour El Sherif), a sexually frustrated,
outwardlyreligious millionaire who takes a young widow (Somaya El
Khashab) asa second wife but exposes his selfishness and hypocrisy
when heforces her to have an abortion; Taha (Mohamed Imam), a
roof-dwellingyouth who turns to religious extremism. Bridging the
tales, thelovely, desperately poor Bosnaina (Hind Sabry), leaves
her firstlove, Taha, when he becomes obsessed with Islam and finds
a jobworking for Zaki, who, newly chastened, is the first man to
treatBosnaina with respect.
Hamed balances these story lines with skill, elicits
credibleperformances from his cast, and deftly handles variations in
tone andscale. At times, the film, Egypt's official Oscar submission,
is epicin scope. At others, it's intimate and tender. At more than 2
1/2hours, "The Yacoubian Building" is nothing if not long. But it's
awindow into a culture that few of us get to see.
Unrated. Run time: 2 hours, 38 minutes. In Arabic with
Englishsubtitles. Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd. (323) 848-3500.