Hi everyone!
I wanted to take a few minutes today to talk a little bit about two amazing films I saw this week, both of which present insight into the Middle East in ways that we don't necessarily get from reading about it online or in our newspapers.
The first is "Incendies" a French-Canadian film from 2010 that was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar last year and a BAFTA this year. Directed by acclaimed French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, "Incendies" tells the story of two twins--Simon and Jeanne Marwan--who travel to Lebanon at their recently deceased mother's behest to find out the truth about their father and a long-lost brother. In so doing, they discover more than either could ever have bargained for about their mother's secret past during the Lebanese Civil War that engulfed the country from 1975-1990, originally pitting Lebanese Christians against Muslims before the Israeli invasion.
The film, adapted from a play by Wajdi Mouawad, is a jigsaw puzzle that shifts between past and present, showing us brutal glimpses of a prolonged war that many of us in the West have forgotten but whose wounds remain and very much influence politics and culture in the Arab World today. It might help to read up on the war prior to seeing the film as without at least some background knowledge the politics of the conflict may seem a little murky. Nonetheless, "Incendies" is necessary viewing for anyone interested in learning about modern Lebanese history and why the country is such a powder keg of regional and religious tension, though technically it has been at peace since the early 1990s. One criticism I do have is that because the film frequently juxtaposes between 2009 and the mid-to-late 70s without any real transition--not to mention the fact that the actresses playing Nawal, the mother (Lubna Azabal), and the daughter Jeanne (Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin) bear an uncanny resemblance to each other--the non-linear narrative style takes a bit of getting used to. And while the climactic revelation is shocking and works from a narrative and character perspective, the logistics of it didn't quite sit with me. Regardless, "Incendies" is a powerful statement about the ties that bind and how sectarian conflict continues to destroy lives and families long after the final shots have been fired.
The second film, "Saving Face" just won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film and was given its broadcast premiere this evening on HBO. In only 40 minutes, "Saving Face" packs a powerful punch as it presents the stories of two brave but tragic Pakistani women --Zakia and Rukhsana--who have been horrendously disfigured by acid attacks inflicted upon them by their husbands. Zakia and Rukhsana represent only two of the hundreds of women who are similarly attacked each year, most of whose cases go unreported. The film documents the efforts made by a Pakistan-born London-based plastic surgeon, Dr. Mohammad Jawad, to help reconstruct these womens' faces as a first step toward rebuilding their lives while also showing the fight within the Pakistani Parliament to get legislation passed that would put the perpetrators behind bars. "Saving Face" is an important film in that it raises awareness to the injustices being inflicted upon women in a part of the world where women are still considered second-class citizens while also highlighting the bravery of these women in facing down a male-dominated society in an attempt to achieve legal protection.
"Incendies" is available from Netflix. Check your local listings for repeated showings of "Saving Face" on HBO, HBO Go, and HBO On Demand.
Ciao.
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