Movies about Lebanon and Beirut
“المطحنة” لرامي قديح العنف دائماً وأبداً المطحنة” ثاني فيلم يخرجه الشاب رامي قديح، وهو نال الجائزة المالية الثانية لأفضل فيلم في مهرجان الفيلم اللبناني. بعد فيلم التخرج الذي انجزه قبل ثلاثة أعوام، “وسكتت شهرزاد عن الكلام المباح”، أنجز قديح فيلمه الأول كمحترف، بإمكانات محدودة، لكن لم يهمل أياً من جوانب العمل السينمائي، وهو يتسلل في جديده الى حميمية شاب...
The View From the Lens of an Israeli Tank’s Scope By A. O. SCOTT A scene early in “Lebanon” dramatizes the moral confusion of combat with unusual clarity and force. Shmulik (Yoav Donat), a nervous young Israeli soldier who operates the main gun in a tank, has orders to shoot a fast-approaching car. Through his viewfinder he can see...
Oshri Cohen as a volatile young Israeli officer in Joseph Cedar’s “Beaufort.” January 18, 2008 Israeli Soldiers Man a Fortress of Futility By A. O. SCOTT Published: January 18, 2008 “Beaufort” may be, strictly speaking, a war movie, but for long stretches it feels more like science fiction. The small band of Israeli soldiers who are its main —...
Nadine Labaki, director, co-writer and star of “Caramel,” as the owner of a beauty salon. February 1, 2008 A Haircut, With an Affair and Highlights of Support By A. O. SCOTT Published: February 1, 2008 The Beirut beauty salon where most of “Caramel” takes place is likely to be a familiar type of establishment, even to viewers who have...
Beyrouth Fantome (1999) Alternate Title: Phantom Beirut Review Summary An intelligent thriller of deception, loyalty and betrayal, Beyrouth Fantome tells of a conflict among old friends set against the backdrop of the Lebanese civil war. Ten years after Khalil (Aouni Kawas) was believed to have died in a skirmish in Beirut, several of his friends spot him at an...
FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW; How a War Pulls Apart Every Life By JANET MASLIN Published: March 27, 1999 With an eye for affectingly quotidian detail, Ziad Doueiri makes ”West Beirut” a largely autobiographical account of war brewing in his native Lebanon, circa 1975. ”During the first years of the civil war, despite the anxiety that I could sense in my...
Review Summary Algerian-born director Merzouk Allouache helmed this French-Lebanese romantic drama in French and Arabic dialogue. Franco-Lebanese journalist Laurence (Fabienne Babe), who left Beirut in 1975 when the civil war began, returns and runs across Rachid (Georges Corraface), whom she knew in Algiers. They wander about, visit Baalbek, discuss politics, and get romantic. Laurence listens to Rachid’s reasons for...
Review Summary The director met Samir Farhat, one of the featured characters in her documentary “Borders” (Israel/2000), four years ago. Samir is a successful Lebanese merchant who wears many hats (and uniforms) and has survived in the dangerous profiteering business world between the borders of Southern Lebanon and Israel. His life and work were so compelling that after the...
Review Summary This tongue-in-cheek film offers a collage of clips from 50 years of Arab films designed to reinforce the myth that Beirut is indeed the “Paris of the Near East.” The clips are framed by two Westernized Lebanese women who are showing the finished work to the elderly film buff, Mr. Farouk. Included in the clips are such...
