jonaslon This movie was a interesting look into life in Cairo, Egypt during that time period. It portrayed a very diverse city and nation. The characters were wonderful although some of them seemed like stereotypes. I am not sure the movie went deep enough. The Christian Copts all seemed a bit money grubbing while Muslims were portrayed in a slightly more positive note. Some of the romantic scenes were enticing but I have to say that the presentation of the Gay character as a predator who obviously deserved the unhappy ending he gets at the end of the movie was disturbing. It is a bit the way homosexuals were presented in American cinema 25-50 years ago. On the other hand, an old charming straight man hits the jackpot at the end. Don't get me wrong. How things ended for the old straight guy was beautifully done. I just wondered why the Gay man was not given a better portrayal. Poorly done and too black and white for my tastes.

Lee Eisenberg Arab Spring drew attention to Egypt's autocratic government under Hosni Mubarak. Therefore, Marwan Hamed's "Omaret Yakobean" ("The Yacoubian Building" in English) turns out to be even more important. The movie depicts 21st-century Egyptian society as morally bankrupt, while also looking at topics that are usually taboo in Muslim societies (e.g., homosexuality).I view the movie as sort of an Egyptian version of movies like "Amores Perros" and "Y Tu Mamá También", both of which show the degeneracy of Mexican society by looking at the different aspects of society. Here we see just about every problem that infects Egyptian society. Although the movie is a scathing indictment of what the most populous Arab country had become under Mubarak, it poses the question of whether this is a matter of governance or something else. We saw how the corruption and autocracy continued under Mohamed Morsi, and has gone supernova since the military coup led by Fatah al-Sisi. Indeed, the nationalist and independence movements often betrayed their own ideals, as political parties either became entrenched like in Algeria, or strongmen took over, like Idi Amin in Uganda. Is it doomed to always be like this?! All in all, a very good movie.

loay_76 Omaret Yakobean is one of the best Egyptian movies in the last decade, it's a story of the stories of the people living in the large legendary historian building of Yakobean. Yakobean building was built by Hagoub Yakobean the greatest of the Armenians in Egypt in 1937, since then, different kinds and cultures of people lived in that building, Princes and Princesses, bashas, Rich and Tycons, foreigners, Officers of revolution, Ordinary people and even Jews. The story of the movie is in the first half of the 90's of the 20th century where different kinds of people who have different cultures and sorts of life, The main characters in the movie were: - Zaki El Dessouki (Adel Emam): A desperate old man descended from a former basha and a Tycon. now in the age of 65, he's living a lonely life only to enjoy himself with women and girls of different types, finally he found the true love with Bothayna (Hend Sabry) and suffering from the annoying of his half mad sister Dawlat (Essad Youniss) ..Haj Azzam (Nour El Seriff): An old tycoon started from zero, wanted to play a politic role but was lost and surrendered in the middle of corruption that rules the game of politics ..Taha (Mohamed Emam): a low level young man failed to achieve his dream to become a police officer, instead he joined a radical cell who doesn't really understood the true meaning of the great religion of Islam and became a terrorist and finally died while trying to kill the police officer who once tortured him when he was captured and jailed ..Bothayna (Hend Sabry): a poor girl who was forced to become a whore serving the ugliest kinds of people to have the money to live and finally found Zaki El Dissouki who gave her the power and the true meaning of love and finally married him - Hatem Rasheed (Khaled El Sawy): A great chief editor in the journal d'Egypt magazine who is living his life as a desperate homosexual and trying to find a guy to satisfy his sick needs and tends ..A strange mix of characters which were perfectly managed by a strong story and a great and promising director (Marawan Hamed) Really a worthy movie to be seen as it reflects a hard criticism to some corrupted situations of politics, sexual lives and terrorism *** Lo'ay

Taha Al-Akshar That's what I felt after watching that movie, it's really close to the society and the public's pulse, some overestimation is there but through comic frame, you'll enjoy watching that movie Marwan Hamed is not an ordinary director, he is one of the best around. i have never seen such a movie that tackles every issue in the Egyption society so honestly. it is a pure masterpiece and if i was running the Oscars then that movie will sure receive one. A movie so honest and directed, it is designed for all classes describing the social corruption in todays society - not only in Egypt but all around the world. if you miss this movie then you will spend your entire life regretting it so i advice every Arabic and non-Arabic speaker to watch the masterpiece and enjoy the art of this marvelous director whom i have a great respect for. two thumps up