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| Moving pictures |
Philippe Aractingi (dir), Sous les Bombes (Under the Bombs) (Artifi- cial Eye, 2007; 98 mins; Arabic with English subtitles. UK release date 21 March 2008 (tbc). Opening at selected West End venues and selected cinemas nationwide. http://www.underthebombs.com)
Reviewed by: PATRICK NICHOLSON
Under the Bombs is a stunning and intensely moving film set amongst the physical and emotional devastation of Lebanon under the Israeli onslaught of 2006.
The storyline is simple yet powerful: Zeina arrives in Beirut on a desperate mission to find her son in the confusion and terror of war-ravaged southern Lebanon.
Taxi driver Tony, a Christian, whilst initially motivated by making a fast buck, is drawn into Zeina's odyssey. Taking strength from each other, they see the quest through to a heart-stopping conclusion.
Filmed under the most precarious of circumstances during the war itself, Under the Bombs uses only two professional actors, with other characters - refugees, soldiers, journalists, militants - all playing their own roles.
The images of the country are unforgettable; whole towns flattened Hiroshima-like, contrasting with beautiful rolling landscapes of Lebanese countryside.
The opening sequence provides some of the most terrifying and instructive images of modern warfare, with wide distant shots of a Lebanese town on a hillside disappearing in a series of huge, unimaginable explosions.
This is no crude polemic but a work of passion, anger and sensitivity. Under the Bombs is an accomplished piece of film-making that works on all levels. Go see it. Get all your friends to go. This film is simply a must see.