West Beirut!
May 15th, 2007Focusing still on films, I would like to bring up a film I have watched recently called ” West Beirut” by Ziad Doueiri,the film brings the viewer back to 1975 , when the civil war in lebanon erupted, and the city of Beirut was divided into East and West, East Beirut was predominantly controlled by Christians, while Muslims held control of the west part of the city.
The film takes place in the west part of the city-hence the name-and beautifully sheds the light on the lives of three teenagers in that dark period of the Lebanese history.
Tarek, a young gawky and restless high school student who goes with his friend omar to a French high school in Beirut. He and Omar like filming, they would carry an 8-mm camera and shoot whatever their eyes could see,as the situation was getting worse in the southern part of Lebanon, a young girl May who belongs to a Christian family moves with her mother from Baalbak to live in the west-Muslim controlled-part of Beirut, she meets Tarek and he introduces her to Omar. Then the three of them embark on quite a journey to develop a film Omar and Tarek had shot, going to film shops around the west and east parts of the city.
It was very interesting for me as an amateur film maker to see how the director brought up the the war issue through teenagers’ eyes, and how amazingly effective it was!!.
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I love this film, it’s my favorite. After many years it’s still recognized as one of the best Arab films ever made. The guy who played Tarek is apparently the director’s brother, I was seriously hoping to see him star in more films but I think he only appeared in one or two others. He’s really talented.
It is indeed a great film. I also think “Arna’s Children” is very good. It’s on youtube.
I saw that film … i really liked it …
I didn’t watch this movie, but I’ve heard so much about it, and how it talks about injustice back in those days!!
I am Lebanese, actually West and East Beirut was Christian, but Shiites from the South of Beirut came and took over while Christians were fighting each other. Shiite fought Shiite, wasn’t really sectarian violence. But the point is, this movie is correct, it shows you the part he lived at, and in fact that part was Muslim vs. Christian and it’s pretty much based on a true a story. I have read and researched so much about this move. I still haven’t seen it. Ziad Doueiri had directed many other things after making this film. For the first 5 years after this, he was only able to get involved with commercials like mars bar. Can you believe that? I’m in love with this movie and I have never even seen it, yet nobody will help this guy out. I believe it is because Hollywood is too controlled or too cared and knows that West Beirut shows the true side of our people. But hey, in 2005 and 2006 they gave him something, the “Sleeper Cell”. Wow, instead working on something to break the image of Middle-Easterns and Lebanese like West Beirut, he got a position to secure that people are lost and confused about our culture. I wish I was rich so I can sponsor him and his movies.
I agree – it is a beautiful film and very real to anyone who lived in Beirut during that time. Sad, beautiful, and a real portrait of Lebanese.