I felt this film with all my heart!!! It was nothing short of what I expected and it's defiantly going in my favorites list of the year. A remarkable watch I highly recommend.
(Directing / Writing / Story)
Mounia Akl is a name to look out for in the region! Ever since I watched her short Submarine there was something about it I really loved and made me look forward to watching her feature debut and I'm excited for what she has coming next!
The storytelling in the film is incredibly sensational, very impressive writing!! The way it succeeds to portray so many layers of social realism and political commentary into one film without it ever feeling too much is smooth and smartly done....
I really liked how all the storylines are in someway intertwined with each other and projected on their own in what feels like different transformative chapters although it does not directly show that but rather done through great editing that allows the story and underlying emotions to touch your soul and provoke your thoughts on them.
And like with most Lebanese films (which I love that) the film speaks more than its simple premise. It's a beautifully complex portrait of a family's dynamic in a phase of their lives, a love letter to Lebanon perhaps, a political statement, an environmental reflection, and above all of that it is a societal commentary at its core.
I also liked the calmness of the atmosphere and the way the narrative softly unfolds itself in a critical and complex crisis, which was also reflected highly in the visuals which profounds the cinematic experience.
(Characters / Performances)
A strong story backed by strong acting creates magic!! Every actor did an amazing job delivering a high performance with contrasting emotions.
Nadine Labaki has unbeatable magic as always, her chemistry with Saleh Bakri worked nicely!! And the little girl (actually twins) had a wonderful charm to them, I wished to see more of Yumna Marwan though.
The character development was rich and beautifully done! Each character had their own depth that you sense from their screen presence on its own which I love! It is also interesting how they are all in the same living experience together yet it's shaping each one of them differently. The focus on the vulnerability and how the director managed to make them live it was an important aspect allowing us to engage and connect with them.
I also liked the use of surrealism symbols to convey internal thoughts, especially the night scene of Nadine Labaki's character, which was one of the most beautiful scenes!!!
(Cinematography)
I loved the cinematography by Joe Saade👏🏼👏🏼 it was beautifully powerful and felt so serene wherein you feel it's not supposed to and that's where it just really works!
The realism in the visuals was very immersive, atmospheric, and portrayed the needed complex simplicity.
The camera language was paced calmly with the narrative resulting in stunning imagery that isn't just beautiful but helps to paint a bigger picture for the audience. The shifts in the tones were nicely implied to convey the two extremes of the story.
