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L'immeuble Yacoubian

Play trailer L'immeuble Yacoubian 2006 2h 52m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
In a run-down apartment building in downtown Cairo, engineer Zaki Pasha (Adel Emam) and his sister, Dawlat (Issad Younis), live off an inheritance from their father. Another prominent building resident, business magnate Haj Azzam (Nour El-Sherif), hides his second wife while pursuing a career in the Egyptian parliament. Their relatively well-off lives intersect with many others in the building, who struggle with corruption, sexual harassment and general social instability.

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Janice Page Boston Globe Rich and imposing. Rated: 2/4 Dec 14, 2007 Full Review Lael Loewenstein Los Angeles Times At more than 2 1/2 hours, The Yacoubian Building is nothing if not long. But it's a window into a culture that few of us get to see. Rated: 4/5 Dec 8, 2006 Full Review Deborah Young Variety The Yacoubian Building distinguishes itself both as the most expensive Egyptian film ever made and, despite its nearly three-hour running time, one of the most watchable. Apr 25, 2006 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site Rather flamboyant, a bit crude, not without its own stereotypes and sentimentality, Hamed's film nevertheless demonstrates some courage and insight. Feb 14, 2021 Full Review Marcos Rebollo Cinemanía (Spain) A long film... but well set and endowed with notable music and performances. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 2.5/5 Nov 6, 2020 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews It's a bold film for an Arabic country. Rated: B- May 2, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (141) audience reviews
Peter G The much used plot of a teacher‘s interaction with a talented pupil is not as shallow or predictable as some critics would have it. Without spoiling the outcome let me just say that in one sense the story is headed in a certain direction but with a satisfying yet open ended & realistic resolution. What is most interesting though & makes the film worth seeing are the characterizations of Hannah Herzsprung & the late Monica Bleibtreu in which these two actresses give complex performances worthy of their reputations. They overcome some of the less credible moments in the script but musical purists be warned since the treatment of the Schumann piano concerto will do more than raise a few eyebrows. A consistently involving character driven film in German language with subtitles. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/24 Full Review kamacho k deserve to be watched ! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/08/22 Full Review Audience Member The most well written and directed Egyptian movie in history. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member O Yacoubian é um dos edifícios mais antigos e charmosos do centro do Cairo. A rotina dos moradores sintetiza a atual sociedade egípcia: Zaki El Dessouki (Adel Imam) é um playboy decadente, mas que mantém a pose. Sua vizinha Bothayna (Hend Sabri), jovem pobre, precisa ceder às investidas do patrão para sustentar a família. O jornalista Hatem (Khaled El Sawy) usa seu dinheiro para seduzir um segurança. Baseado em romance homônimo de Alaa Al Aswany, best-seller no Egito. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Long but entirely absorbing film of a book I hadn't read (have I ever read an Egyptian novel? It's a familiar enough device - this famous old Cairo building housing a cross-section of the fading upper-class Egyptian society. This was the most expensive film made in Egypt, and the biggest box-office hit. Whatever shortcomings the film has, what makes it so compulsive is that it shows a diverse group of Egyptians (the inhabitants of the Yacoubian Building) at the time of the first Gulf War and so before the 'Arab Spring' and rehearses some of the themes, which have subsequently become manifest. These themes of old and new, modernism and tradition, and the fact that they were in a popular movie in Mubarak's Egypt, may give many of us cause to reflect on our ignorance. The book was published in 2002; the film released in 2006. How did an Egyptian audience react to the portrayal of the seduction of simple, married, conscript soldier by the sophisticated gay editor of a respected newspaper? Of the soldier's wife's incomprehension? I wish I knew. "How" asks the pretty young girl of her increasingly conservative boyfriend, moving towards the (not actually named) Brotherhood "can it work out for us? I wear a mini-skirt and you are becoming a traditionalist." OK the building as an Egyptian microcosm is sometimes a tad too in-your-face, but the girl going off with the old guy in the end is achingly optimistic. Some of us, (sigh!), may suspect perhaps a little unrealistic too. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Great book about Egypt. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews
L'immeuble Yacoubian

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis In a run-down apartment building in downtown Cairo, engineer Zaki Pasha (Adel Emam) and his sister, Dawlat (Issad Younis), live off an inheritance from their father. Another prominent building resident, business magnate Haj Azzam (Nour El-Sherif), hides his second wife while pursuing a career in the Egyptian parliament. Their relatively well-off lives intersect with many others in the building, who struggle with corruption, sexual harassment and general social instability.
Director
Marwan Hamed
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Arabic
Release Date (DVD)
Jan 8, 2008
Runtime
2h 52m
Sound Mix
Dolby, DTS