Where Do We Go Now?

 

 I suppose I could do a blog about The Dark Knight Rises, but what's the point? Everyone else on the internet has already talked about it often enough, with reason to of course. It is the other most anticipated super-hero movie to come out this year. But another opinion on it isn't even going to get noticed. And besides, if I did talk about The Dark Knight Rises then I wouldn't be able to talk about this little, hidden gem, that got practically no hype surrounding it at all. A film that if not for us weird arthouse-loving freaks would probably go around unnoticed until it was unearthed 20 years later as a masterpiece! Okay, that's a little bit overboard. But it's true that not many people have heard of this, the cinema I saw it in was empty except for me and two other people. So, withouth further ado, I present the representative for Lebanon for the 84th Academy Awards (unfortunately, it didn't make the final short-list), and premiering during the 2011 Cannes Film Festival as part of Un Certain Regard, Nadine Labaki's Where Do We Go Now?

 In a remote Lebanese village surrounded by land mines, Christians and Muslims co-exist rather peacefully as opposed to the other parts of the country where there are fights between the two demographics. That is until the crucifix in the church is accidentally broken and tensions between the men of both parties rise considerably and it's up to the women to try and distract the men from fighting amongst each other, lest they end up killing themselves. This is an ensemble film with four main groups who are in the middle of the conflict; the women, who include cafe owner Amale (Nadine Labaki) and mayor's wife Yvonne (Yvonne Maalouf), the Christian men, who include brothers Nassim and Issam (Kevin Abboud and Sasseen Kawzally respectively), the Muslim, including Rabih (Julian Farhat) a painter and Amal's potential love interest, and the Easter European Erotic Dancers who are hired by the women of the village. 

Yep, in this film about religious conflict in the Middle East, there are Erotic Eastern European dancers that the women hire to distract the men from their fighting. I know that a lot of the films I see are really bizarre, but this quiet little chick flicky film is one of the strangest. The only way I can describe so that you get an idea of what it's like is that it seems like they wanted to make a Bollywood musical but forgot to put half the songs in... Yes, this is meant to be a musical as well. There are songs in it, and they do kinda have stuff to do with the plot, but there are only 4 and they appear out of nowhere and disappear within a wink of an eye. Oh, and those erotic dancers? They are part of the plot. (I'll just go back to them quickly before I forget). The women of the village think that the men will be distracted from their fights with beautiful half naked women wondering about, but it only works for a little while because of the conflict out of the village growing and spreading. 

One of the messages at the heart of this film is an awesome one. It's not the main message, that one is a little more profound. But I still think this one is awesome. "If women ruled the world, things wouldn't be as bad as they are now." It's funny that us females are billed as the over emotional-types, when it is the men who are quick to anger and prejudice. And it's especially shown in this film, though some may think it to be counter-sexist. But I don't think it is. The fact that the women react badly to some of the things that happen, and that they are moments when they break down from the stress of it all shows that they are vulnerable to what is happening around them as well. We see that there have been deaths in the past over religious quarrels, and the women as a community are simply trying to avoid that from happening again. 

 But this isn't a film about the battle of the sexes, not really. Because there isn's really a battle to be found in that neck of the woods. The main conflict is between Muslims and Christians. The film leads us to believe that it is the segregation between religions that leads the tension, and that is the best and pretty much only reason for it. But the problem with how it is presented in the film is that the two groups aren't segregated. We see them getting along fine with each other until the whole mess starts, and the crucifix is broken. There really is no cause for the Christians to just jump right in and say it was the Muslims when there is no proof, and no previous tension to be seen. Other than that, the conflict is well done. It escalates to a hilarious climax and ends on a bittersweet note. What more could you want? Really though, the idea that the women get for the climax comes out of nowhere (with a song to accompany it!) and has to be seen to be believed. 

What Nadine Labaki likes to do is cast non-actors based on their personality and then incoporate those things that she liked into the their characters. So we end up with characters that feel incredibly human, with little ticks and traits that make each of them stand out. And for non-actors, they are superior to a lot of Hollywood 'actors' that you find nowadays. While there are stand-outs, the dialogue in the film is so quick that I can't actually remember any of the names of the characters. There are almost too many characters in this movie, and yet if any of them were to go it would feel less like a community. So, what I'm saying is that I can forgive the film for not clarifying all the characters names, because each character stands out enough that you don't need their names. Though it would be nice. I can't forgive the film, however, for including what seems to be an important plot point but isn't just for a joke that could've been done a dozen different ways. 

So, is this a good movie? I'm leaning towards saying yes rather than no, but it's certainly not perfect (though what film is?). It's fun to watch, though, joyous in parts, quite sad in others and sometimes just downright weird. The conversations and interactions between the women save this film from being just another message movie, and the message that is presented isn's shoved down your throat. It's presented in an emotional, human, and also strangely logical way. And have I mentioned how beautiful it looks! Based on three films I've seen this year, I really want to go to the Middle East now just to see the amazing landscapes. I would also recommend you see this because the director/writer is not only Lebanese, not only a woman, not only different, and not only good, but the things that she has to say are relevant everywhere and concern everyone, not just those who live in Lebanon. So yeah, check it out! Maybe even check out Labaki's ealier work Caramel, or some other Middle Eastern movies. Until next time!

Just a quick note about next time. Currently, I am in a musical called Zombie: A Post Apocalyptic Rock Opera, so I have little to no time to go see any new movies for a little while. If you are interested by this odd musical I have gotten myself into, here is a trailer here!

and if you are even more intrigued and actually want to check it out, here is the address for tickets:
tinyurl.com/zombietickets

(Please note, this is on at Melbourne University, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Sorry to those who live internationally.)

Also, the Melbourne International Film Festival is coming up and there are some films I definitely want to go and see, so the next couple of reviews will probably be on something from that. Anyway, that's it for now. Bye!