Review of The Yacoubian Building

I did not read the book before watching the movie, nor did I not know what the movie is about, but I heard from several people and friends that it is the greatest Egyptian movie of all time. After watching the movie I was a bit disappointed, I thought the movie was good, but I expected more. Marwan Hamed (director) did a great job, since it is only his first movie, but the movie could have been directed much better than this. The movie talks about the 3 major taboos in the Egyptian literature: Politics, Sex and Religion, it's not the first movie to address these issues, but it's definitely the bravest... too brave to say the least. Since when did we talk about sex or homosexuality freely and with open mind? Since when did a man discuss how many times he sleeps with his wife with one another? The movie was showing too much carelessly and regardless of our typical Egyptian culture. The director concentrated too much on the sexual issues (especially homosexuality), yet religion and politics ware not given their fair piece of the cake.

I would recommend you watch the movie, it is still a good movie, although you might have a different view.