I saw this year's Oscar nominee INSULT for Best Foreign Language Film at the Quad Cinema in downtown New York, with a five-star recommendation.
The small conflicts in the lives of the two men induced the Lebanese to humiliate the Palestinian refugees "I wished Ariel Sharon had wiped you out", and the listeners broke each other's ribs in anger (Sharon is the former prime minister of Israel, and Palestinians hate Israel). Things intensified in a political context and even led to a divide between nations. The film is very moving, not only because the emotions are restrained enough, but also from the life and emotional state of the civilians to see the tearing of the entire region.
For example, Palestine refugees have lived in Lebanon for decades, and their rights to work and medical insurance are still not well guaranteed, but they are rejected by the native Lebanese and are considered to be vested interests that occupy resources and sympathy; such as the highly politicized Middle East , any abuse may become hate speech involving identity, religion, and political stance. Just like the plaintiff's lawyer said in court, this is middle east, "sensitivity" is born here. Living in such a place, people cannot help sensitive. A friend who watched the film with me told about her travels in the Middle East, the fact that she had an Israeli visa in her passport, the Palestinian Airbnb host refused to let her in, and so on. Although the film may be exaggerated, the confrontation and conflict between nations are truly permeating all aspects of the lives of the people in the Middle East.
The most touching thing is that the film not only presents the trauma of Palestinian's humiliation, but also traces the Lebanese civil war in the 1970s, the Beirut refugee camp massacre, especially the Damour massacre that caused the nightmare of the 6-year-old Lebanese male protagonist. (Damu massacre), the Palestinian military organization bloodbaths civilians in Damu, which also explains the male protagonist's long-standing hatred of Palestinians, blurted humiliation and tough demands for an apology. The war is over, and the survivors are forever prisoners of historical memory, and the state owes them a public apology.
The director is very optimistic about human nature and the future. Tony and Yasser are essentially ordinary people who keep their own way, but they have taken on the traumatic memories of too many peoples. At the end of the film, Yasser's car broke down, Tony drove away and turned around to help him fix it, and Yasser then went to Tony's garage late at night, deliberately provoking the other party to beat himself with words to apologize, and sincerely Said I'am sorry.
It is a pity that the Arab world in reality is still in tension. The territorial disputes, religious disputes and painful war memories accumulated in history cannot be resolved in a short period of time. Politics is always disappointing, but life is still composed of countless individuals. Human nature I will still be moved by beautiful, warm and sincere things. I hope that, as the director wishes, mutual understanding between people will eventually overcome the hatred between nations and the great sadness of history, to heal the scars of reality.
May the world be at peace.
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