A FILM REVIEW
UNDER THE BOMBS
by Malik Isasis
Recently Israel dropped a hundred tons of bombs (or 90 metric tons of bombs) on Gaza to which the Israeli government said its intention was to completely destroy Hamas for lobbying rockets into Israel. Hamas is a group the United States and Israel has labeled as a terrorist organization. It is often not reported or under reported that Hamas is actually a democratically elected government in Gaza. This fact doesn’t matter to the media or the world because the moment Arabs are labeled terrorists they are instantly robbed of their humanity and the dismemberment, and disbursement of their guts, brains and limbs by Israel or the United States is justified as Israel’s right to defend herself, but it's never the other way around.
Just as the United States in the early 1980s created Al Qaida to fight the Russians in Afghanistan, Israel created Hamas to fight Yassar Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization or (PLO). When these Frankenstein monsters US and Israel creates began to develop their own agenda, they are labeled as terrorists, but under US and Israel‘s definition of a terrorist organization and their actions, both US and Israel can also add themselves to the ranks of a terrorist organization. Look no further than the US occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and the 2006, 33-day bombing campaign in Lebanon by Israel.
Under the Bombs
In the summer of 2008 I attended the annual Human Rights International Film Festival in New York. It was there I discovered a little known film titled, Under the Bombs. The film never received theatrical distribution here in the United States (heaven forbid that there be another side to the Jewish and Arabic conflict). When Israel began raining bombs on another country, I wanted to rewatch the film. It just so happened a friend of mind from Lebanon got me a dvd copy of the film for my collection.
Under the Bombs takes place in Lebanon on the day after Israel’s 33-day campaign and follows the strikingly beautiful Zeina (Nada Abou Farhat), who is searching for her missing six-year old son and her sister in the rubble in Southern Lebanon. She arrives in Beirut desperately trying to hire a taxi driver to take her to Southern Lebanon in search of her family. Tony (Georges Khabbaz), a Christian is the only taxi driver who will agree to take her south, for a price.
Director and writer Philippe Aractingi incorporates real footage of the bombings to create a hybrid, a surreal experience. The destroyed bridges, and roads that halted Zeina and Tony’s search were real, not special effects. The destroyed buildings were real, not special effects.
The filmmaker takes a straightforward view as he lets the pain, and chaos speaks for itself. Zeina and Tony come across victims who’ve lost family, and it's pretty clear these moments are unscripted as the victims tell the horror of having to dig out the limbs of relatives from collapsed apartment buildings and homes.
Even amongst the chaos and destruction of war, love goes unabated. Tony, a working class driver who has dreams of moving to Berlin and starting a restaurant with his brother, initially repulses Zeina an aristocrat but their relationship develops slowly and over time as the search brings them across Southern Lebanon and their collective loss Zeina understandably lets down her guard. She is grieved and finds she needs to be comforted by Tony. Along the way, Tony realizes that the search is no longer about the money; he just wants to help her find her family.
Under the Bombs is a story of loss, and regret, but also about not missing the opportunities before you. It is a powerful, and well-told story that is neither dogmatic, nor overly sentimental. It strikes the perfect balance of showing the burdens of war and its true effects on the human psyche.
This film may not have received theatrical distribution in the United States but it will be available on dvd in March of 2009 at Amazon.com.
Grade: A
UNDER THE BOMBS
by Malik Isasis
Recently Israel dropped a hundred tons of bombs (or 90 metric tons of bombs) on Gaza to which the Israeli government said its intention was to completely destroy Hamas for lobbying rockets into Israel. Hamas is a group the United States and Israel has labeled as a terrorist organization. It is often not reported or under reported that Hamas is actually a democratically elected government in Gaza. This fact doesn’t matter to the media or the world because the moment Arabs are labeled terrorists they are instantly robbed of their humanity and the dismemberment, and disbursement of their guts, brains and limbs by Israel or the United States is justified as Israel’s right to defend herself, but it's never the other way around.
Just as the United States in the early 1980s created Al Qaida to fight the Russians in Afghanistan, Israel created Hamas to fight Yassar Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization or (PLO). When these Frankenstein monsters US and Israel creates began to develop their own agenda, they are labeled as terrorists, but under US and Israel‘s definition of a terrorist organization and their actions, both US and Israel can also add themselves to the ranks of a terrorist organization. Look no further than the US occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and the 2006, 33-day bombing campaign in Lebanon by Israel.
Under the Bombs
In the summer of 2008 I attended the annual Human Rights International Film Festival in New York. It was there I discovered a little known film titled, Under the Bombs. The film never received theatrical distribution here in the United States (heaven forbid that there be another side to the Jewish and Arabic conflict). When Israel began raining bombs on another country, I wanted to rewatch the film. It just so happened a friend of mind from Lebanon got me a dvd copy of the film for my collection.
Under the Bombs takes place in Lebanon on the day after Israel’s 33-day campaign and follows the strikingly beautiful Zeina (Nada Abou Farhat), who is searching for her missing six-year old son and her sister in the rubble in Southern Lebanon. She arrives in Beirut desperately trying to hire a taxi driver to take her to Southern Lebanon in search of her family. Tony (Georges Khabbaz), a Christian is the only taxi driver who will agree to take her south, for a price.
Director and writer Philippe Aractingi incorporates real footage of the bombings to create a hybrid, a surreal experience. The destroyed bridges, and roads that halted Zeina and Tony’s search were real, not special effects. The destroyed buildings were real, not special effects.
The filmmaker takes a straightforward view as he lets the pain, and chaos speaks for itself. Zeina and Tony come across victims who’ve lost family, and it's pretty clear these moments are unscripted as the victims tell the horror of having to dig out the limbs of relatives from collapsed apartment buildings and homes.
Even amongst the chaos and destruction of war, love goes unabated. Tony, a working class driver who has dreams of moving to Berlin and starting a restaurant with his brother, initially repulses Zeina an aristocrat but their relationship develops slowly and over time as the search brings them across Southern Lebanon and their collective loss Zeina understandably lets down her guard. She is grieved and finds she needs to be comforted by Tony. Along the way, Tony realizes that the search is no longer about the money; he just wants to help her find her family.
Under the Bombs is a story of loss, and regret, but also about not missing the opportunities before you. It is a powerful, and well-told story that is neither dogmatic, nor overly sentimental. It strikes the perfect balance of showing the burdens of war and its true effects on the human psyche.
This film may not have received theatrical distribution in the United States but it will be available on dvd in March of 2009 at Amazon.com.
Grade: A
posted by Malik Isasis at
2:24 PM
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