Sous les bombes

Enjoyable movie. Acting is solid. Mix of real life footage it was hard to tell what was staged and what was real. Really makes you wonder why civilised human societies still insist on bombing each other to the stone ages.

In our modern and enlightened age there is no such thing as a 'Non-Combatant'. Whether we like it or not, each of us is on one side or the other. UNDER THE BOMBS tells the story of a young mother who is trying to find her sister and son during the ceasefire of the 2006 Israeli/Lebanon Conflict. She is a wealthy outsider from Dubai who enlists the aid of a sympathetic local cabbie who helps her track down her missing family. The film focuses on their budding friendship against the backdrop of actual war zone footage. Many of the scenes are unscripted, and are shot as the real events unfold, and make for compelling cinema. The film drives home the message that wars are putatively fought and lost for valid reasons, but there are never any winners-only losers. A very thought provoking look at the true cost of a nation's foreign policies.

What better way to shoot the movie than amidst the rubble and destruction resulting from the the 2006 Lebanon War. How's this for realism in movies?

Zeina (Nada Abou Farhat) captures the raw emotions of grief and despair of possibly losing a young son in the war, as she races against time to locate him. This desperation moves Tony (George Khabbaz) to be more helpful to her. George Khabbaz succeeeds in showing the viewer his change of heart.

Great shots of the Lebanese countryside specially those places untouched by the air strikes.

The viewer is tempted to brush up on what provoked the war. Will this happen again to a land that has known armed conflict for so long?

"You do not want war! I don't want war! All we want is to live! Is it too much to ask? " Lebanon has seen many wars since last half of century. 1948, 1958, 1968, 1975, 1982, 1984, 1989, 1996, 2006, 2007, 2011 till 2017. This film was shot during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah (a Lebanese Shia Islamic Party). Israel launched a massive assault in response to killing of 2 Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah. It fired thousands of rockets targeting the residential areas of the southern Lebanon city that killed more than a thousand civilians. The attacks from both the sides went on for 33 days. This is a story about a Lebanese mother and her quest to find her son who was believed to have been rescued after the building he was in was bombed. This movie is not about script writing, cinematography, direction or even acting. It is distinctive and unparalleled in making of it. It was filmed in the war zone towards the tail end of the actual war when smoke was still rising from the debris of the buildings and the smell of gunpowder was still in air . Shot completely in Lebanon, it is raw, poignant and chilling. It was Lebanon's 2009 academy award submission .A good watch.

This movie was chosen by filmmovement.com. Often I find the movies they chose to lack heart and leave the viewer bereft in some way. This is the exception. True, the subject matter is devastating. However, the way it is handled is so delicate that it somehow inherently contains a message of hope. I have seen this movie several times, and find that the characters have stuck with me. I've not gotten enough of them.. I want their story to continue. I will, however, caution the viewer: if you don't want your political consciousness raised, you must stay away from this movie. It in no way coerces the viewer; it simply offers such a different perspective, you can't help but be redirected in subtle ways. Well done to the entire cast and crew of this movie.