Mirath

It really takes a a special type of delusional and borderline abusive director/protagonist/father of three to subject his kids to this war storyline. There are some interesting historical aspects of this rich exiled family. The movie is an off-shoot of his other movie "Under the Bombs" where Philippe Aractingi returns to a Lebanon fresh out of a ceasefire to film, askin to a passerby taking photos of a recent car crash. It was not enough that France evacuated him and family at the taxpayer's cost, he must return to Lebanon days after the ceasefire. And coerce his wife to bring his kids from France where they are safe. And show the kids the horrors of war including bullet shells that he collected as a child hilmself. This man is dangerous.

I very much enjoyed watching Heritages and my rating is based on how much it touched my soul and I could relate to many of the stories. I liked the little highlight on the parallel lives with the director's ancestors. The personal stories told about the Lebanese civil war came across as unbiased and sharing them with his kids was a good idea I thought. I find a large number of the young generation have little knowledge about what went on and the Lebanese history books don't mention this period at all.

Heritages is an amazing work of art. It embodies all the emotions, exciting and painful, that accompany every Lebanese leaving his country. This work made me tear up and laugh many times during the movie. While I may not be the best judge of cinematic techniques, it is definitely a movie that speaks to all hearts, especially those that left their country. Philip Araktingi made me think about going back to live in Lebanon. He reignited the belief in the Lebanese people and country as one day making it in the world. It reached to every aspect of a Lebanese life throughout its life stages: childhood through adulthood. It speaks to all of us. It is highly recommended if you are Lebanese and like the fact that you are Lebanese.

NB: This film is very relatable to me having the same age as the director; lived the civil war in Lebanon until 1984 where I left to study in France; lived the war in 2006 with my four children while on vacation and we have been evacuated by the first French boat to Cyprus. Therefore, every part of this film means alot to me.

Great flashback over 30 years earlier where director show his own experience of wars in Lebanon. Read about it in school, listened to his parents about previous wars, lived the civil war in 1975 and then the 2006. The best way to describe this film is "Art" instead of documentary. The director bring us on a journey of emotions and discoveries where individual, family and history play central stage. Leveraging the family, resemblences, shooting techniques, and mixing past with today play great deal of creation. The protagonist act by engaging others like mother, wife, children, and neighbours faced with the love of two countries.

Recommend to everyone looking for something different.

This "film" is weighed down by an unremarkable premise, a poor structure, cheap green screen sequences, and overall amateur directing -- it's shocking to me that this director has managed to finance his films given the lack of relevance to a contemporary Lebanese or worldwide audience. Mimics the countless Lebanese student films that are made every year, but ultimately results in self-indulgent, schmaltzy storytelling that lacks any soul or sheds light on anything new. A hackneyed approach to low-quality "documentary" films that earn Arab cinema its unfortunate reputation.

If you're interested in how one bourgeois Turkish family ended up in Lebanon, then France, perhaps you'll find it a little interesting. However, considering the tens of millions of Lebanese who have left their homeland, there is absolutely nothing interesting, engaging, or film-worthy about this particular film. There are incredible stories to tell. This simply isn't one of them.