[yasr_overall_rating]
In today’s Beirut, an insult blown out of proportions finds Toni, a Lebanese Christian, and Yasser, a Palestinian refugee, in court. From secret wounds to traumatic revelations, the media circus surrounding the case puts Lebanon through a social explosion, forcing Toni and Yasser to reconsider their lives and prejudices.
Sometimes, a well-intentioned film can become so overtly political and blatant, it loses its bite. While “The Insult” never quite bores, thanks to its humanity, sharp performances, and some effective sequences, it also could have been so much more. For such a controversial subject matter – the ongoing tumultuous Lebanese-Palestinian relationship – “The Insult” lacks a strong core, be it satire or heart-twisting drama or pulse-pounding thriller. As it stands, writer/director Ziad Doueiri’s film is an earnest little tale that touches upon a variety of compelling subjects, but ultimately fails to add up.
Toni (Adel Karam) lives with his pregnant wife Shirine (Rita Hayek) in Beirut. She wants to move to a bigger house in another city, but Toni, a car mechanic and patriot, resolutely states, “I work here.” Fiercely protective of his country, his city and especially his apartment, Toni refuses to let an illegal Palestinian City Hall construction worker, Yasser (Kamel El Basha), into his home, even after his illegal draining pipe splatters Yasser’s face with water. A building violation, the pipe needs to be replaced, so Yasser does so from the outside – just to have Toni smash it with a hammer. A war between the two gentlemen ensues. Toni ends up with a broken rib in lieu of an apology.
The first trial – one of the film’s highlights, both wryly humorous and intense – is brief, however. The judge finds the evidence inconclusive and lets Yasser off the hook. Toni, who refused to hire a lawyer, is enraged, screams out insults at the judge and Yasser, including the scathing, “I wish Ariel Sharon wiped you all out.” When Toni’s wife goes into early labor and his child ends up on life-support, he decides to sue again. This time, he’s backed by a team of lawyers, who advise him not to use such slurs, if he wants a shot at winning (for defending Palestinians is “trendy”). It’s not money Toni’s after though. His pride guides him on.
In a twist of sorts, it turns out Toni’s lawyer is Yasser’s lawyer’s father. Politics and law intertwine, leading to chaotic testimonials and a revolting crowd outside the courtroom. Soon, the entire city of Lebanon is involved, the media avalanching down upon the two men. The city’s streets burn with overturned cars and scorched flags. Secrets from Toni’s past surface, potentially changing an inevitable outcome.
Adel Karam is a force of nature, a coiled spring, a seething, spouting, deeply bitter character, insulting everyone in his way, so morally and ethically misguided he cannot defy the prejudice embedded in his DNA, or overcome his traumatic past. Kamel El Basha is his direct opposite, a deeply empathetic man, saddled with years of abuse, the actor doing a wondrous job conveying his sorrows and anger. He makes the brief moments of elation count.
Ziad Doueiri ticks off many admirable themes, methodically. His film is about the stubbornness and misguided pride of individuals that leads to a collective denial, an inability to see past prejudices and recognize the human being. It’s about the power of words and the age-old question of right vs. wrong. It’s about the domino effect of a tiny mishap leading to an all-engulfing storm. It’s about one’s past, haunting him. Ultimately – oddly – the main query “The Insult” poses is a rather simple one: “Why can’t we all just get along?”
Doueiri can’t help but spell out some of the themes with a big bold permanent marker. “We’re the n*****s of the Arab world,” Yasser tells his wife at one point. Like, whoa. A little subtlety goes a long way. Here’s an example of another passion filled statement: “As the Jews say,” Toni proclaims bitterly in Yasser’s face, “‘Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” As he’s being escorted out of a courtroom, Toni screams: “It pays to be a Palestinian!”
While the first half of the film moves at such pace it may make one disregard the obviousness of some of its statements, the dry, courtroom-drama second half turns into a pedagogical treatise on Middle-Eastern politics. Add in the somewhat unnecessary sub-plot of the father/daughter courtroom face-off, as well as a healthy dash of sentimentality, and even Tommaso Fiorilli’s beautiful cinematography, conveying both Beirut’s corroded state and its majesty, cannot save the film from coming off somewhat “eh” – while it should have thrilled, infuriated and inspired. Undoubtedly filled with powerful moments, the “The Insult” is nonetheless never more than the sum of its parts.
“The Insult” opens in Dallas Friday, February 2nd at the Landmark Magnolia
