sergepesic The modern day Egypt is the main character of this epic. It seems to be a tumultuous place never sure if it wants to be in the West or East. The director of this interesting movie tackles quite a few controversial topics. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism, homosexuality, the poor treatment of women in contemporary Egyptian society, the rampant corruption, still powerful strict class system. Enough topics for a dozen movies, but the director somehow manages to pull it all together. Some of the story lines feel a bit rushed to its conclusion, but all in all an interesting glimpse at modern Arab world. Its people are like any other, scared and imperfect and a bit lost in the complexities of life.

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

ors Egypt has the same problems as in any other country. The difference with this film is that these problems are laid out bare.This may be unique in Egyptian cinema.Although the film is very good, the director tried too hard to include so much! Every subplot in this movie could have been turned into a film.The only negative thing is the portrayal of the homosexual. Though shown to be kind and sensitive (unlike most characters in the film), it is implied that he had been forced into being gay. Why can't we just expect that some people are just naturally gay!

mnadi This excellent black drama is a must see despite its nearly three-hour running time, the movie is one of the most watchable and enjoyable pieces of art in Egyptian Cinema.I didn't read the story before seeing that controversial movie, so I had low expectations. But despite that, got hooked as early as the quality intro that takes you smoothly through an enjoyable ride to discover the background behind that nostalgic building in central Cairo through a Sepia short clip.The film is an artistic black drama which is full of cultural and political symbolism if you read carefully between the lines, my interpretation is that the building is a clear symbol of the country itself and how it transformed dramatically from the nostalgic early days of the 40s till the present day, shedding light on the price that the Egyptian society had to pay during that rough trip, and how the society has clear double standards that everyone is trying to ignore.Every side story evolves in a different direction and involves controversial characters who are linked only by the same building (society) in someway or the other, the different stories are interweaves in an artistic way to dramatise different controversial issues and taboos from adultery, political corruption, homosexuality to Islamic fundamentalism.The movie has a general sad feel around it especially for anyone who lived in Egypt as it touches on the deterioration and many negative issues that are becoming more and more the norm in most Egyptian society levels that was once a conservative and religious society. It is strong wakeup call to those who love their country to stop burying their heads in the sand when it comes to double standards that's affecting everyone in the society making everyone feel inferior to the country. The story will make you think deeply about how and why a country like Egypt could end up where it is today.The cinematography, steady cams, crane camera movement is brilliant, the smooth cuts and soft transitions boosts the romantic dimension of the storyline. As expected, the music score by Khaled Hammad is expressive, romantic and adds a lot of depth to many scenes. The tempo of the movie is just right, giving enough time for actors to express their feelings through longer than usual shots that will never leave you bored. Action scenes are also very well done.A must see piece of art for anyone who is living or used to live in Egypt.