A slice of Cairo life
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By Daniel Nelson
Make the most of The Yacoubian Building - some Egyptian MPs tried to get it banned and in Kuwait the censors scissors cut it from three hours to 90 minutes. But here we get the full version of the film of Alaa Al Aswanys best-selling, blockbuster book of the same name, and with its portrayal of corruption, homosexuality and sexual exploitation its easy to see why some groups in Egypt objected to it. Oddly, members of the Muslim Brotherhood were in the forefront of calls for a ban. Odd, because the films depiction of sleaze in contemporary Egypt chimes with the Brotherhoods criticisms of life in the Sadat era. The casual sexism and wheeler-dealing is unremitting, interrupted only by a burst of violence in a street shoot-out scene when a young man who has been tortured for his role in an Islamist, anti-government rally seeks revenge on his torturer. The film paints an unappetising picture of life in 34 Talaat Harb Street. Its like watching many episodes of a long-running, over-ripe soap opera compressed into a single, sprawling omnibus edition. Two-thirds of the way, assailed with another slice of sleaze, you gasp for a break from the unremitting pressures of Egypts teeming capital, but the best the story can offer is a male fantasy romance between an old reprobate who has seen the error of his ways and a younger, life-loving, beautiful woman. The treatment of homosexuality verges on the lurid, and melodrama lurks menacingly throughout the film. But perhaps whats important is that homosexuality and sexual predation in general are tackled openly, along with other controversial issues. The sound of breaking taboos is audible. In addition, some of the acting by a star-studded cast is excellent and the plot twists keep you wanting to know what will happen next to each of the residents of the building and their occasionally intertwining lives. For British audiences, it offers a glimpse into aspects of Cairo life - of urban life in general. Its not the whole truth no film ever is but its part of the truth. * ICA, 14-30 Sep 2007 * A paperback version of the book will be published in September (HarperPerennial, £7.99) |
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