The Yacoubian Building (2006) is a film that gives no quarter when it comes to the social and moral inadequacies that it displays throughout. With a large cast of primary characters who all have moral shortcomings or social issues they must deal with, this film uses these many combined stories as a basis to condemn and attack the fictitious Egyptian political party known as the “Patriotic Party.”
In the film, the “Patriotic Party” is a fictional version of the real Egyptian National Democratic Party which was the political party founded by Anwar El Sadat in 1978. This political party had uncontested full political power over the entire nation and was fiercely opposed by many Egyptians. Egypt was officially known as a multi-party system but Sadat’s NDP was basically the only meaningful party and it had authoritarian characteristics. “Corruption and nepotism contributed to the wasting of public money” (Shafik). The lack of democratic freedom for Egyptians due to the NDP’s power made the NDP very unpopular and controversial, and can be considered a major reason why this film was made. “However, the case of Egypt is more complicated” (Khatib). The corrupt one party system in Egypt was the leading factor in creating this state of affairs but it was far from the only thing.
The film as a whole is a rather scathing review of the state of Egypt and its current shortcomings because of the “Patriotic Party.” “The book focuses mainly on the residents of the Yacoubian building, a once-chic but now rundown edifice that acts as a metaphor for Cairo’s own deterioration” (Asfour). The Yacoubian Building used to be known for its wealthy residents and the lavish lifestyles they lived, but is now home to a whole new group of Egyptians, who are for the most part loathsome and hard to root for. This makes sense, keeping in mind that the residents themselves are also supposed to be used as a critique for Egypt and its people as a whole. The many subplots within the film may seem disconnected from one another but that is kind of the point because there are so many issues going on in Egypt and there surely will not be one solution to fix them all. “What all these sub-plots add up to is an aggregate portrait of corruption in Egyptian society – the extreme divisions between rich and the poor, and the convenient exploitation of the have-nots by the privileged classes” (Stehlik).
The director of The Yacoubian Building, Marwan Hamed describes the film’s main characters as decent people who are forced to do bad things because of their situation. These characters all seem to either be corrupt or corrupted via the society in which they find themselves and although they seem more like anti-heroes than characters to be rooting for, Hamed urges that they should be defended and that they are only products of their environment. Hamed goes on to say “The film shows the decay that imbues outside reality. Corruption has eaten its way into all areas of Egyptian life” (Stehlik).
Works Cited
Asfour, Nana. “THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING.” Book Reviews. Words Without Borders,
n.d. Web.
Khatib, Lina. Filming the Modern Middle East: Politics in the Cinemas of
Hollywood and the Arab World. London: I.B.Tauris, 2006. ProQuest ebrary. Web.
Shafik, Viola. Arab Cinema: History and Cultural Identity (New Revised Edition
(New Revised). Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2000. ProQuest ebrary.
Web.
Stehlik, Milos. “Milos Stehlik Reviews the Egyptian Film “The Yacoubian
Building”” WBEZ 91.5 Chicago. Pritzker Foundation, 12 Feb. 2011. Web.
“The Yacoubian Building Director Q&A.” Vimeo. The Arab British Centre, 27 Sept.
2012. Web.
The Yacoubian Building. Dir. Marwan Hamed. Good News Group, 2006.
Through an Arabic Lens: the Intersection of Film and Culture 
I really liked your interpretation of the multitude of subplots in this film. While I was watching this film, I too thought that all of these subplots made the film appear cluttered and disconnected. However, your interpretation that this is representative of there not being one solution to fix Egypt’s problems is enlightening. Even the way the film ends, with seemingly no real resolution and kind of on a weird note, depicts this.
I was initially unaware that the political going-ons in the movie were depictions of Egypt’s ever constant issues with corruption. I like that you pointed that out and I for one now understand the movie as a whole a little better by reading through your analysis on what it is trying to convey to the audience.
I was initially unaware that the political going-ons in the movie were depictions of Egypt’s ever constant issues with corruption. I like that you pointed that out and I for one now understand the movie as a whole a little better by reading through your analysis on what it is trying to convey to the audience.Also the fact that the director said some of the characters should be seen as victims of circumstance and not villains is enlightening and made me appreciate the movie a little more
I like how the post connects the fictional Patriotic Party to what it represents in real life: the NDP, whose unpopular government directly led to the making of this movie in opposition. Calling out the director for making some corrupt politicians look like victims was interesting, as well. Overall, I think the blog was to-the-point and established clear links between scenes and characters in the films and the meaning behind these representations with analysis from the film.
Your analysis was very captivating, in that you touched on the moral shortcomings of each character as a basis for exemplifying a form of political criticisms toward the Egyptian government. The historical context that you provide also helps in supporting your claim, as it is relevant to the motivation behind the creation of the film.
I think the director’s point of view about the main characters is particularly interesting, but I think perhaps the way sexual assault is treated by the director makes for a poor character portrayal. I think it’s incredibly disingenuous to suggest that the journalist who frequently raped the men he slept with on the first night was a “product of [his] environment.” This was a very interesting analysis!
You bring up an interesting point about the “Patriotic Party,” something that I did not pay much attention to or have awareness of while watching the film. This concept of the Yacoubian Building / Egypt not being the way it used to be kind of reminds me of a reverse-gentrification situation. I also felt like the subplots in the film created chaos while watching it, but never understood it as an “aggregate portrait of corruption in Egyptian society” as you said.
The film really captures how the environment affects people’s behavior. People who were good but the situation comprises their decision of doing the right thing. Buthayna el Sayed wanted to keep her honor and she will have to changes jobs every time her boss try something assault her, however, her mother wanted her to have a job even when her bosses her inappropriate so at the end she gave up and changed her personally. She used her beauty for her interest.
Great post! I had not previously known about the political foundation that parts of this movie were based off of (such as Sadat’s NDP. I also liked how you compared the physical building to the current state of Egypt. Doing so demonstrated you understood the underlying elements to the film.
I enjoyed your detailed explanations of things such as the Patriotic Party and it’s representation of an actual political party, which allowed me to further understand the film. What I admired most about your post is the symbolic theme you discovered regarding the use of the Yacoubian Building in order to represent the deterioration of Egypt.
I like the points that you made on the vast differences between rich and poor. The dynamic of the poor on top and the rich inside or on the bottom reflects directly the scenes from Downton Abbey and reverses it. That reflection where the rich and poor live such different lives in close proximity creates great tension.
I like the take on this film’s relevance through a political lens. It’s definitely important when understanding any film and I was not aware of how politically charged this one was. I like the choice of quotes and how they attach more meaning to certain scenes that would be criticized in any case, though not necessarily with as much accuracy.
I really appreciated how you linked the discontinuity of Egyptian identity with the residents of the Yacoubian building. Like how the Egyptian identity went from being almost regal to being plagued with class struggle, so too did the Yacoubian building. I also think you did a great job explaining the context of the film with regard to the “Patriotic Party.”
I found your analysis of the film interesting. I also think your suggestion that characters in the film are not necessarily bad but have to do bad things in a creative assumption about the move. Especially when you try to take the movie at face value and judge all the characters by their actions. I agree that there circumstances are just as important.
Without seeing this movie, it sounds like it is very politically involved film. I feel as though it has aspects that I have not seen from the Arabic films that I have previously seen. Your comparison of the political parties in the film to the political parties in the real world seems important to understanding the movie.