The New York Times Movie Guide published synopsis on The Yacoubian Building movie as the film is soon to be screening in USA.

 PLOT DESCRIPTION

The lives and loves of a handful of Egyptian aristocrats - some flush, others living in shabby gentility - set the stage for this epic-scale drama, based on a best-selling Egyptian novel.

The Yacoubian is a luxury apartment building, which was built in Cairo in the late '30s. At the dawn of the 21st century, the Yacoubian still has charm and a reputation for elegance, but is beginning to show clear signs of decay, and the rooftop laundry facilities now double as flats for the less fortunate.

 Among the residents of Yacoubian are Haj Azzam (Nour El Sherif), a self-made business tycoon noted for his strict religious views. However, Azzam's public morality is a far cry from his private life, in which he uses his fortune to buy both political influence and the hand of a beautiful widow (Somaya El Khashab).

 Hatem Rasheed (Khaled El Sawy) is a respected newspaper editor who has a shocking secret - he's gay, and is romantically involved with handsome young soldier.

 Zaki Pasha (Adel Imam) is an aging self-styled lady killer who has long lived at the Yacoubian off the largesse of his family. When his sister kicks him out of their flat, he is forced to move into the office he used for his trysts. Zaki turns to his former girlfriend Christine (Yousra) for help, but she can do nothing for him.

Meanwhile, Bosnaina (Hind Sabry), who lives in one of the rooftop apartments and cleans Zaki's room, has grown tired of her relationship with her boyfriend, Taha (Mohamed Imam), who has developed a troubling interest in Muslim extremism.

Omaret Yacoubian (aka The Yacoubian Building) was the first feature film from director Marwan Hamed.

The Guide demand readers to Rate or Review 'The Yacoubian Building'

Readers' Reviews:

I was fortunate to see "The Yacoubian Building" (Sunday April 30), courtesy of the Tribeca Film Festival. Let me first say that it was an amazingly ambitious film, and well-acted, etc. (Add additional standard movie praise here) Ultimately, though, despite the three hours running time, I walked away unsatisfied, defeated by the film's ambition. In an effort to bring *all* the problems facing Egypt to light (and, I assume, to successfully present the book, which I have not had the pleasure to read), the filmmaker has stretched himself too thin. Each of the topics addressed: the plight of women, homosexuality, corruption, fundamentalism, etc., could easily have been its own full-length film. I was particularly concerned with the fundamentalism segment of the movie. The character and his motivations were too undeveloped to understand his convictions and his actions, and I feel that it is irresponsible to release such a superficial overview to the West. I am worried that this portrayal may help cement some Westerners' anti-Arab view (while I understand that the intention was completely opposite). Overall, as mentioned earlier, I thought that this has the potential to be a fabulous series of movies, but all thrown together; it leaves something to be desired.