A Future Site ▼

Total Film: The Modern Guide to The Movies

Reviews

An uncomfortable look at war-torn Lebanon through a visitor's eyes

Aug 17th 2009 By Tom Dawson

“I’m not sure I’ll understand much, but I want to see,” says French icon Catherine Deneuve, who’s driven by Lebanese artist Rabih Mroue to visit the war-ravaged south of his country during the summer of 2006.

Co-directed by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, this awkward blend of documentary and fiction depicts a society painfully rebuilding itself, where rubble is dumped into the sea and posters of Hezbollah martyrs line the highways.

Yet the images lack historical context, Deneuve seems ill-at-ease throughout and the film overall suffers in comparison with last year’s Lebanon-set Under The Bombs.