As the film Screened at the Berlin International Film Festival,

The Hollywood Reporter described The Yacoubian Building as  “The film offers a revealing window into the secular world of a modern Islamic country.

The Yacoubian Building”.. is a sprawling, boisterous, at times unruly movie that tracks the up- and down-turns of Egyptian society over the years through the tenants of a decaying downtown Cairo residence. The best-selling novel by Alaa Al Aswany and now the film version offer a revealing window into the secular world of a modern Islamic country -- its indulgence in alcohol, sexual promiscuity, political corruption and personal betrayals. From such "deformities," the movie argues, Islamic fundamentalism gains its most passionate adherents.”

“.. a must-see at festivals, the film revels in a glorious melodrama that could help it reach a much wider audience. With a reported budget of $6 million, its producer, the Good News Group, clearly entertains such ambitions. The film boasts an astonishingly accomplished feature debut by promising young director Marwan Hamed. But he might need to cut the 165-minute running time for the film to live up to those ambitions.”

The plot of the film was assessed as “.. Poverty fuels most subplots. The son of an ex-Pasha (veteran Egyptian actor Adel Imam) no longer enjoys wealth so he surrenders his dignity in pursuit of silly sexual dalliances, thus irrevocably alienating his sister. A young and poor security officer is seduced by a homosexual editor into moving his family nearby so he can be on call for his sexual services.

A porter's son, who suffers humiliations over lack of money and a young girl's rejection, turns to radical Islam. That young woman sacrifices her honor in a scheme to trick an employer. A former shoe-shiner, who now owns blocks of real estate, hungers for political power but it comes at a cost. A widow enters into a degrading second marriage to this man in the interests of financial security.”