lots of things i disagree with, lots of points this should've touched on and didn't, lots of "interesting you say that considering..." moments while watching, some REALLY far-fetched plot twists but ultimately i'm glad we have something that raises these topics to be discussed in the first place
it starts with real promise and the two leads are both quite good until the movie is pulled away from them. it's just drowning in didacticism and has a frustrating inclination to make inequal equivalencies
then again, the nature of such national & political issues CREATES an environment where these inequal equivalencies are all you're going to hear from the public; every point that was stated and every claim that was made was a real-life talking point, regardless of its validity. you can always expect people to lash out against what they perceive is inequality
the point i'm trying to make is that this movie traverses an insanely sensitive topic that not many would find easy to understand (especially those not versed in lebanon's political climate), and the way it decides to depict that story is provocative in its nature. as such, you could make a claim that these inequal equivalencies being made are a representation of a realistic real-life reaction to such a scenario by average lebanese people, and not necessarily the movie saying "this is the truth, i'm correct"
this does leave me quite lost on exactly what rating such a movie deserves. it left me thoughtful, inquisitive, and interested to see more, but i also know that most of the reception to this is going to be dramatic & angry due to the choices made. perhaps i'm reaching in my analysis and the director truly believes the angle that's depicted over and over in the movie, perhaps he really does mean exactly what is said and there's no deeper meaning to what's going on; i really don't know. but i choose to believe my interpretation. it makes for a better movie, and better peace of mind
what i can say, though, is that it does something good in opening the discussion, and that both my parents and i enjoyed that aspect thoroughly
lots of things i disagree with, lots of points this should've touched on and didn't, lots of "interesting you say that considering..." moments while watching, some REALLY far-fetched plot twists but ultimately i'm glad we have something that raises these topics to be discussed in the first place
it starts with real promise and the two leads are both quite good until the movie is pulled away from them. it's just drowning in didacticism and has a frustrating inclination to make inequal equivalencies
then again, the nature of such national & political issues CREATES an environment where these inequal equivalencies are all you're going to hear from the public; every point that was stated and every claim that was made was a real-life talking point, regardless of its validity. you can always expect people to lash out against what they perceive is inequality
the point i'm trying to make is that this movie traverses an insanely sensitive topic that not many would find easy to understand (especially those not versed in lebanon's political climate), and the way it decides to depict that story is provocative in its nature. as such, you could make a claim that these inequal equivalencies being made are a representation of a realistic real-life reaction to such a scenario by average lebanese people, and not necessarily the movie saying "this is the truth, i'm correct"
this does leave me quite lost on exactly what rating such a movie deserves. it left me thoughtful, inquisitive, and interested to see more, but i also know that most of the reception to this is going to be dramatic & angry due to the choices made. perhaps i'm reaching in my analysis and the director truly believes the angle that's depicted over and over in the movie, perhaps he really does mean exactly what is said and there's no deeper meaning to what's going on; i really don't know. but i choose to believe my interpretation. it makes for a better movie, and better peace of mind
what i can say, though, is that it does something good in opening the discussion, and that both my parents and i enjoyed that aspect thoroughly
