Liban 1982

The realism that is displayed in the new film "1982" was definitely a great breath of fresh air providing an interesting perspective on war. Straight from the brilliant mind of director Oualid Mouaness, he depicts the events of what could have occurred at an average Lebanese school during the invasion. The camera angles and suspenseful cinematography entices the audience's attention and brings you into the minds of people living in a war-zone. The characters are thoughtfully constructed from the 11-year-old main character who has a crush on his classmate to his conflicted and terrified teachers and staff at this grade school. The juxtaposition of storylines combines to formulate an unsettling mood, leaving you on the edge of your seat. The superbly raw emotions simply radiate from each actor and actress creating a touching sense of a loss that had yet to happen. However, you know in the very beginning how the story ends and hang off the silence in every scene foreshadowing the pain that would come to this country. As a human, you feel inspired to recognize the horrors that are happening as the result of war and disagreements on ideology. The tension of the consequences also added to the general tone of losing and gaining hope and the fear of ultimately being trapped and unprotected. Since watching this film, I have personally gained a new intriguing perspective of what life is like for people on the other side of the globe, and it makes me want to help and advocate for them; because they are also human.

Oualid Mouaness' debut film "1982" is a beautifully blended coming-of-age tale that follows the 1982 invasion of Lebanon as seen through the eyes of a schoolboy who tries relentlessly to announce his love to a classmate on the same evening that disaster strikes. Mouaness, who in addition to directing, wrote and produced this film, which is unlike any other in its ability to draw emotion and suspense with the subtlety and grace of a true auteur. With exquisite performances from Mohamad Dalli (Wissam) and Nadine Labaki (Yasmine), this script becomes a story that is as palpable as it is entertaining, consistently delivering on effective blocking and delivery that progresses the film organically. As effective as the dialogue and action are, however, I would be remiss not to mention what is possibly the film's greatest strength, its silences. Mouaness strategically injects the action with silences that elevate this film to a new level of excellence, drawing out each interaction and allowing the impact of this event to fully wash over the audience. "1982" is one of the finest contemporary examples of narrative cinema, and one that will continue to push the envelope of what it means to be a filmmaker.

I have been watching many foreign and indy movies on Kanopy, and this was a wonderful surprise. The story set against the backdrop of the events in Lebanon in 1982 felt highly realistic. I cared about the characters, especially the young lead. For those of us in the US blessed with never having experienced invasion, the backdrop of war and how it affects people's lives was a jarring reminder. It especially seems so for the middle-class Lebanese depicted here. I knew the tragedies that would soon be upon Beirut, and it was affecting. Afterwards, I looked up the history; it was extraordinarily convoluted. Perhaps it was as baffling to these Lebanese, who must have wondered what in the world was happening to their country.

Shouldn't be on Netflix, it is extremely bad, many wrong msgs, i can't believe they participated in cannes festivals or even thought it will lead them somewhere, I've seen short movies for students and unfortunately it was beter big time.

Despite that the movie is well captured in terms of technology like cameras and equipment, and the casting staff did tremendous job, the movie all in all lacked a strong scenario and had one major event, the whole movie covers this event throughout half day. and it was very slow moving! Disappointing.