I had such high hopes for this film ! Instead, I found myself looking at my watch every fifteen minutes. What a shame, because the art direction is just beautiful !
The soundtrack is captivating, and, to us Lebanese, there were many nostalgic elements, such as the Singer sewing machine and the Rayovac batteries ad. They made me smile. But it stops there.
This is a Lebanese village. What's with all the Malena references ? What's with the Spanish costumes and, sometimes, music ?
Why kill the idea of the little boy/narrator scenes with repetitive elements ?
Why use clichés, such as the two women gossiping in church ? That scene looked so fake !
And while the main female character is beautiful, her expressionless face killed it for me. Blank, indifferent, she didn't touch me for one second, despite the extensive use of sunlight and close-ups (repeatedly ad nauseum) to make her look appealing. She doesn't ooze half the sex appeal of another female character, the village's 'amoral' woman, for lack of a more appropriate term. A much better actress in my opinion, and a character I'd have liked to see developed.
Also..I do not know why they felt the need to showcase so many crippled/mentally disabled characters. Was it to touch us, because the two main characters were so blank ? Well that didn't work either.
Now for the war reference. Oh wow, bravo for yet another 'the Lebanese Forces were a cruel, sectarian militia who did nothing but brutalize and steal and kill.Yay for liberals/Leftists.' I bet the Dubai people who financed the movie were more than happy to do so, because of the dance scene in church first, and the LF militiaman brutalizing a veiled woman second. :) Politically, this movie is clearly one-sided, and a tad tacky at that.
Aesthetically, save for the lack of focus in many shots, it was real eye candy.
Would I recommend this movie ? Only if you have a lot of patience, if you like sunlight and warm shots, and do not expect to identity or sympathize with any of the main characters.
The soundtrack is captivating, and, to us Lebanese, there were many nostalgic elements, such as the Singer sewing machine and the Rayovac batteries ad. They made me smile. But it stops there.
This is a Lebanese village. What's with all the Malena references ? What's with the Spanish costumes and, sometimes, music ?
Why kill the idea of the little boy/narrator scenes with repetitive elements ?
Why use clichés, such as the two women gossiping in church ? That scene looked so fake !
And while the main female character is beautiful, her expressionless face killed it for me. Blank, indifferent, she didn't touch me for one second, despite the extensive use of sunlight and close-ups (repeatedly ad nauseum) to make her look appealing. She doesn't ooze half the sex appeal of another female character, the village's 'amoral' woman, for lack of a more appropriate term. A much better actress in my opinion, and a character I'd have liked to see developed.
Also..I do not know why they felt the need to showcase so many crippled/mentally disabled characters. Was it to touch us, because the two main characters were so blank ? Well that didn't work either.
Now for the war reference. Oh wow, bravo for yet another 'the Lebanese Forces were a cruel, sectarian militia who did nothing but brutalize and steal and kill.Yay for liberals/Leftists.' I bet the Dubai people who financed the movie were more than happy to do so, because of the dance scene in church first, and the LF militiaman brutalizing a veiled woman second. :) Politically, this movie is clearly one-sided, and a tad tacky at that.
Aesthetically, save for the lack of focus in many shots, it was real eye candy.
Would I recommend this movie ? Only if you have a lot of patience, if you like sunlight and warm shots, and do not expect to identity or sympathize with any of the main characters.