Simply Perfect

Purely Joyful Movie!

Let's be realistic.

Blistering performances.

It's August, 2006 Lebanon. After 33 days of Israeli airstrikes, a ceasefire is declared with the help of the UN. Zeina Nasrueddi returns from Dubai to find her son Karim. Nobody is willing to drive south. She gets a ride from sleazy, ugly, underhanded Christian taxi driver Tony. They find a devastated landscape and many civilian deaths.This opens with a montage of bombings and civilians escaping the devastation. The use of real footage is interesting but it also generates a couple of problems. It suggests the whole thing is one single bombing incident but that's probably not true. Also the camera lingers on a last bombing scene but that scene is not necessarily what the filmmaker thinks it is. There are multiple explosions in the same spot. The last explosions are massive. They are probably secondary explosions meaning the Isrealis actually hit a hidden ammo dump.Zeina searching for her son is a functional excuse to see the devastation. However, there are scenes where it makes little sense. There is no real reason for her to go see the UN forces landing. I can certainly understand that they're doing guerrilla filming and they're using whatever is available. It's also an excuse to push the melodrama. The relationship between Zeina and Tony is awkward most of the time. The problem is that Tony is such an unlikable character from the very beginning. The story tries to give a slice of life but it feels like a manufactured addition to something amazingly real. I would rather watch a documentary or something better constructed. This is more like a tour of destruction.

It is not possible for human beings to show same emotions on all occasions.In life there are moments when drama becomes comedy.This is exactly what happens in French film "Sous Les Bombes" /Under the bombs. This is a comedy based on richness of human experiences during times of war when people try not to lose their heads over small matters.This is a film which has adopted a convenient road movie format to communicate its message of peace and harmony.It is precisely due to this format that this film's two main characters are able to unwind and reveal their true nature.Director Philippe Aractingi has decided to get his film made during actual times of war.This gives a lot of authenticity to this film. It is due to such a tough yet necessary decision that we get to comprehend atrocities of war.Actors Elham Abbas and Iman Affara play their leading roles with great conviction.To conclude, we can state that "Sous Les Bombes" is a good film but it has its fair share of TV film aesthetics. This is the only drawback of this film.

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.

Not sure why this film isn't rated higher. Its really good. The other review does a good job explaining why its good. (an amazing achievement, part documentary, part drama, great acting, great story, great cinematography) I will add, it is not pro-hezbollah, its not pro-Israel, its anti-war. However it is told from the perspective of a Lebanese woman, so if you are really pro-Israel and pro-war and pro-killing people, you will probably not like it.Really depressing. So if you want feel-good and redemption, don't go see it.It has a great love story too. Its complicated and not trite at all.This is a unique touching film