Omaret yakobean

Jun 21 2006 N/A 2h 41m
Drama

portrays the lives of residents in an old Cairo building "The Yacoubian Building", highlighting issues like corruption, extremism, class disparity, and sexuality. Through diverse characters, the film offers a critical examination of the Egyptian society

Plot

Cairo: a 70-year-old building of once-luxury flats with tenements on the roof. Zika, an aging libertine, feuds with his sister. Pius Haj Azzam takes a second wife, in secret, to satisfy sexual drive within religious bounds. Bothayna, poor and beautiful, supports her family, wanting to do so with dignity intact. Her former fiancé, Taha, the janitor's son, humiliated by the police, turns to fundamentalism. Hatem, a gay editor, seduces and corrupts a young man from the sticks. Two brothers, Copts, one a tailor and one Zika's factotum, connive for property. Allah is on most everyone's lips, and corruption is in their hearts. European values, both refined and worldly, provide a subtext.

Written by

Alaa' Al-Aswany, Wahid Hamed

Directed by

Marwan Hamed

Production Countries

Egypt

Production Companies

Good News, Arab Co

Languages

English, Français

Awards

9 wins & 5 nominations

Scores
# of Votes
7,519
Average Rating
7.5 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA