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The world-weary coquette Christine played by actress Youssra is seen in this promotional photo still from the 2006 film “The Yacoubian Building.” (Egyptian Embassy) |
The Egyptian Embassy in South Korea brought critically acclaimed 2006 film “The Yacoubian Building,” seen for the first time by the general public, to a local theater in Seoul on Friday.
Based on the 2002 novel by Alaa Al Aswany, “The Yacoubian Building” sketches comic yet heart-wrenching portrayals of the vagaries of the human heart.
“The Yacoubian Building” is a searing indictment of Egyptian society under now-deposed strongman Hosni Mubarak and his decades of oppressive and corrupt misrule.
The eponymous building is both a metaphor for contemporary Egypt and a unifying location, where the primary characters either live or work and where much of the action takes place. The film’s urbane characters occupy a universal narrative of the “big city,” which, at its core, is really a morality tale.
One such character and the film’s protagonist, Zaki, a wealthy and elderly roue, is rendered sympathetically by popular Egyptian actor Adel Imam.
Given post-revolution Egypt’s precarious balance over a chasm of truly horrible bloodshed that could engulf the nation at any time, the film’s bittersweet yet hopeful denouement becomes all the more promising, if not more wistful.
(
ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)
