Halal Love

I was born and raised in the Middle East and lived there for many years. Having moved to North America recently; I found myself missing the culture and listening to regular everyday conversations in Arabic.

So I decided to watch this on Netflix as it was the first thing that popped up on my screen and I was amazed by how much I enjoyed it. Perhaps it was because I could relate to the humor and the characters, it was such a brilliant reflection of real life!

I thought the actors did a great job in porting these simple every day characters with such charm and humor.

I also enjoyed getting to know more about the customs and practices.

Give this a watch with an open mind. It's a great reflection of real life where the women are in so much control of their lives and families unlike what is portrayed in the media.

This is a deeper film than it first appears, examining cultural expectations of marriage - expectations that often conflict with the actual hopes of husbands and wives.

Sure, it is funny and moves quickly, without lingering too long on any one scene or story line. The pacing and snappy dialogue give the film a light, whimsical feel. But it cleverly draws us deep into the private lives of each couple and their various hopes and challenges, revealing variously - love, loss, frustration and the right way to make tabbouleh.

Darine Hamze, Zeinab Hind Khadra and Mirna Moukarzel are outstanding as the women in search of happiness with their hapless men (ably played by Rodrigue Sleiman, Hussein Mokadem and Ali Sammoury).

Don't be late or you'll miss the funny and awkward first scene in which a teacher valiantly tries to explain to her young students how babies are made - only to leave them more confused and afraid of... well, you'll see.

The movie portrays the reality of "halal love" quite adequately. The script writing is just brilliant as it is smooth and witty. Unlike other Lebanese movies the dialogue comes out as natural and quite realistic. It is a good laugh and a great outlook on the issues many couples face in Lebanon and the Middle East. Darine Hamze is absolutely beautiful inside out. The cast all did a brilliant job at portraying their characters. Worth the watch!

Tried to watch this but it was just so silly . The humor did not translate well and one can only assume that this would have little in the way of global appeal. Clearly made for a very targeted market, perhaps just a few countries in the Middle East.

While violent conflicts continue in the Middle East, it's encouraging to see films, even more, comedies, being made.

The vast majority of Middle Eastern films are cloaked in drama, sadness, and forbidden love. "Halal Love (and sex)" had all those elements but with a strong comedic center. There were multiple characters with intertwining stories, it was clear that director Assad Fouladkar was inspired by Asghar Farhadi's exemplary work. Except with "Halal Love (and sex)" the family issues felt more like background noise while the comedy took center stage.

The scenes were charming and informative to some Muslim practices. At times it felt mildly disrespectful to laugh at the rules of the culture. Unfortunately Muslims are not seen in the best light in 2016, a mindset I disagree with heavily, so to show a lighter side of Muslim culture may be just what it needs.

I was lucky to see director Assad Fouladkar speak in person about the film. He seems to be a visionary man, I hope to see more from him in the future.