1982
Lebanon, 2019, 100 minutes, Colour.
Mohamad Dalli, Fidel Badran, Gia Madi, Ghassan Maalouf, Lielya Harkous, Nadine Labaki, Said Serhan, Aliya Khalidi, Rodrigue Sleiman, Alastair Brett.
Directed by Oualid Mouaness.
“On June 6, 1982, exactly 38 years after D-Day, roughly 60,000 Israeli troops and more than 800 tanks, heavily supported by aircraft, attack helicopters, artillery, and missile boats invaded Southern Lebanon, a country already involved in a decades-long civil war. Israel's publicly-stated objective was to push PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) forces back 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the north and establish an expanded security zone that would put northern Israel out of range of the continuing onslaught of PLO rockets.”
This is a memoir, almost 40 years after the events.
This narrative has a double focus, on children at school, on adults, especially the teachers at the school, their various affiliations, conflicts, effects on emotional relationships.
The action takes place mainly in and around the school, the bombardment seen in the distance. However, the film immerses its audience in the feelings of the time, and especially with the experience of the children, at school, their backgrounds, and the expected consequences of the Israeli invasion.
This film takes his place among a number of films dramatising the war in Lebanon on, the Civil War, the Israeli attacks.
- A heartfelt Lebanese film? The experience of war, civil war, religious conflict, invasion and bombardment by the Israel? And the focus on a day in 1982?
- The significance of 1982 in Lebanese history? Attacks from Israel? Bombardments in Beirut? The divided city and movement between sections? The experience of war?
- 1982, Beirut, the school, the students, their backgrounds, the teachers, the administration? Audience responding to the ordinary detail of school, the students gathering, parents and family, friendships, classes, recreation periods, the groupings? The work of the teachers?
- Listening to the news, the information about the attacks, seeing the smoke in the bombardments, looking across the city? Decisions to be made by the administration? The reaction of the students, the teachers and their role, keeping the students calm? Eventually the students having to go home, organisation of the parents, the cars, buses, students from the other side of Beirut?
- The focus on Wissam, his age, family background, his friendship with Majid, their talking, his infatuation with Joanna, his drawings, the superheroes, leaving the note for Joanna? In class, competitive with their studies and exams, his awkwardness in talking? The film highlighting his focus on Joanna, obsessing?
- Joanna, new to the school, her background, her talents, in class? Receiving the drawing, curious? Her friendship with Abir, from the other side of the city? Time together, talking, the puzzle about the drawing?
- Majid, mischievous, his glasses, the friendship with Wissam, clashes, reconciliation?
- The portrait of the other students, in the detail of the school, with Wissam, with Joanna?
- Yasmine and her story, her role of the school, encouragement of the students? The home background, family? Trying to keep in contact by phone through the day? The discussion with her brother, his decision to go to the south of Lebanon on, his involvement in the uprising? Her continued concern? Her friendship with Joseph, discussions with him, the cooling of the relationship, his political opinions? The birth being involved in getting the children to safety?
- The principal, the work, interviews, decisions?
- The end of the day, the cars and parents, the children being picked up, the hiring of the bus, the driver, his exasperation, Wissam and his relationship with his older brother and his girlfriend, in the bus, his getting out, wanting to go to the toilet, seeking out Joanna, getting onto the bus? Joanna and her leaving Abir? Wissam almost missing the bus?
- A memoir, almost 40 years later, yet bringing this and a to life, bringing the experience of war in Beirut to life?
