By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Danielle Arbid
Starring: Laudi Arbid | Marianne Feghali | Rawia Elchab
Original language title: Maarek hob
Country: belgium, france, germany, lebanon
Year: 2004
Running time: 88
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0362454/combined
Bruce says: “Once known as the Paris of the Middle East, Beirut was ultimately reduced to rubble by fighting that began in the mid 70’s and continued for at least a decade. People went about their business during the day; at dusk the fighting began on the streets of Beirut. People headed for cellars and shelters to ride things out until the sound or mortar shells, rockets, and bombs fade away at dawn. This is the background for IN THE BATTLEFIELDS a coming of age tale about a twelve year old girl, to some extent autobiographical, from director Danielle Arbid.
“Two other films, CIRCLE OF DECEIT (1981) and WEST BEIRUT (1998), have touched on the absurdity and devastation of civil war in Beirut – a vague, nonsensical war fought among various Christian militias (some of them actively supported by Israel), Muslim (native Lebanese) militias, Syrian groups, and various Palestinian factions (mainly refugees from the creation of Israel in 1948 who live in poverty in refugee camps in the southern part of the country). Volker Schlöndorff directed the former and it starred Bruno Ganz and Hanna Schygulla as outsiders who have come to Beirut as war reporters. The latter was directed by Ziad Doueiri and is about the war seen through the eyes of a teenage boy. Both films concentrate on the intensity or the war as well as the surreal aspects of the turmoil.
“The streets are not the only battlefields in this film. There are just as many confrontations going on within the confines of the Christian home of Yvonne (Laudi Arbid) the family matriarch. Her brother’s family boards with her; Yvonne is disdainful of her brother’s gambling, jealous of her sister-in-laws natural beauty and distrusting of her niece Lina. Yvonne has contracted for a Syrian maid named Siham (Rawia Elchab); Lina (Marianne Feghali) views this indentured servitude as slavery. Yvonne treats Siham shabbily and is ungrateful for almost every kindness, slapping Siham in front of others to reinforce the master/servant relationship.
“Lina’s mother discovers she is pregnant. No one is particularly pleased with the news. Gangsters have threatened to kill Lina’s
father if he cannot pay his gambling debts. Yvonne spends most of her days playing cards with her cronies not that she would think of her small wagers as gambling. Lina is bored and becomes friends with Siham. But it is more than that. Siham is a role model for Lina, particularly where it comes to the boys, an area where Siham excels. Siham has several boyfriends, one with whom she is planning on running away. He brings along friends as dates for Lina who likes the attention she gets from them.
“Lina is well aware of the class distinctions at play. Although she values her friendship with Siham, Lina is also learning about life by observing her aunt’s behavior. Dual loyalties rarely last for long.
“The film opens with ‘Three Coins in the Fountain’ being sung in Arabic by a TV torch singer. Later ‘Daddy Cool’ is the background music, this time sung in English. Using some professional actors and quite a few non-actors, Arbid made IN THE BATTLEFIELDS with what was available to her in the Lebanese talent pool. The aunt in the film is actually the director’s aunt; surprisingly, she is one of the strongest characters. Today Beirut is almost completely rebuilt so the once commonplace burnt out building is now hard to find. That’s the sort of thing that drives a location manager crazy. 3.5 cats
“This film was shown at the 2004 New York Film Festival”