Under the Bombs (2007)

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

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.

I did not think that the sex scene was awkward in the movie; I found it quite appropriate. It is clear that Tony is attracted to Zeina, so when a decent substitute comes along for him to express his sexual desire, it seems genuine. The innkeeper may have exaggerated on being scared of the wind, but in wartime there is a sense of alienation and a desire to unify, even if in the most banal ways. Tony is portrayed as a sort-of loner, working man. He initially helps Zeina most likely because of her beauty; I believe he was staring at her breasts when he first offered to help her. As the two bonded on their journey, Tony opened up about his past and became more sympathetic. This is the crux of the character development. The simplicity of the relationship and the romantic nuances exemplify the human spirit. In essence, Tony discovered that he didn't just want to "bang" Zeina, but he generally appreciated her for being herself. Likewise, Zeina became less guarded over time and looked to Tony for comfort, especially in the wake of her divorce and her newfound independence. Zeina had a desire to return to her roots and Tony, also being from the same region, comes to be a representation of her own identity.

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.

We were fortunate enough to see this film at the Sundace Film Festival, and I have rarely seen a more accomplished effort at portraying one of the worst atrocities of the past decade. Director Philippe Aractingi's ability to bring two feature actors into Lebanon on the tenth of thirty-three days of brutal Israeli bombing is nothing short of magnificent. Before seeing the film, I thought it may be a better case study of the war-torn environment left by the indescriminate bombing of civilian areas by the Israeli Army, with some actors thrown in at the last minute in a patchwork attempt to create a feature film. I was painfully wrong. This film is a compelling character drama told through the eyes of real people experiencing the worst kind of hell on earth. With unbelievable footage of the actors in the middle of the ongoing conflict, international media coverage, and the U.N. relief mission, Aractingi deftly (and powerfully) combines his fictional characters will real life survivors to tell the story of a mother trying to find her son in the ruins of war-torn Lebanon. The main character's decision to hire the initially lecherous, but ultimately compassionate and sympathetic taxi driver Tony to take her on her journey results in a touching tale of humanity and the place of individuals in a world beyond they're control. When asked about his filming techniques in the Q&A after the movie, Aractingi expressed his desire for the movie to be seen for the message it carries, as it should be.