This is a powerful film, told with restraint and bolstered by strong, measured performances by an ensemble of fine actors. The toll the Lebanese Civil War has had on families, relationships , the everyday emotional life of those left behind is shown with compassion and respect in these intimate portraits of loss, grief and trauma. The effect of the short films is cumulative and I didn't see the last film coming where all these stories are shown to be closely connected.
What I like about these stories is that it shows the victims (dead and grieving) of the war not as spotless heroes or martyrs, but as flawed, but loved human beings. Those who are left behind are devastated in different ways by the uncertainty their loved one's disappearance makes on them. The quiet dignity of these people trying to get on with their lives not knowing what happened is heartbreaking and I wonder what kind of impact this film has had in Lebanon where tens of thousands have suffered this fate .
This film certainly deserves to be seen more widely. I find it very frustrating that the bulk of cinemas are showing so much wall-to-wall US dross (amongst the few decent films) while gems like this are usually hidden away from a wider public. I imagine on Netflix or IMDB one day we will just be able to access all these films and pay towards the creation of more great dramas like this.
Interestingly, four of the directors are women and it is co-written by a woman Diamand Bou Abboud. Alongside showing a more liberal or honest depiction of Arab culture than we are used to seeing on the big screen, these are stories which do not focus on the politics but the messy emotional afterlife the women go through but also the impact it has on the men who love them. This was handled with real understated skill in all of the films and weaved together skilfully at the end with images of real protestors who are still looking for answers about the fate of their loved ones from a dark chapter in Lebanon's recent history.
