By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Mazen Khaled
Starring: Carol Abboud | Hadi Bou Ayash | Hamza Mekdad | Moustafa Fahs | Raneem Mourad | Rashad Nasreddine
Country: italy, lebanon
Year: 2018
Running time: 84
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7385556/reference
Michael says: “There’s some major symbolism going on in the Lebanese film,MARTYR by Mazen Khaled, possibly about the state of Beirut, where the film takes place, but the gorgeous shots of water, and actor Hamza Mekdad’s nude body lean more toward death and spirituality. In addition, the way they use the term martyr confused me. Defined as someone who is killed for their religious beliefs, Hassane, a character who dies tragically at the rocky Beiruti beach didn’t particularly seem like a martyr. Still Khaled’s film is beautiful in it simplicity and its artistic representation. Hassane starts his day dreaming of being underwater as the camera lovingly caresses his body, before waking upon a mattress on the floor of his parents’ living room, having just lost his job and needing to find a new one but instead hanging with his similarly handsome friends at the beach. There’s some discussion about the stifled nature of their lives, before a tragic accident moves the film into an examination of grief and the cultural traditions of dealing with a body of a deceased loved one.
“Unabashedly symbolic with interpretive dance/movement to represent grief and love, and homoerotic in a way reminiscent of Derek Jarman, complete with still photography and beautiful men, MARTYR surely deserves a nomination for its cinematography, beautifully handled by Talal Khoury and Rachel Noja. As I said, there’s not a lot of plot but the simple story is bolstered by the imagery and strong acting, not only from Mekdad, but his favored friend Had Bou Ayah, and his driving mother Carol Abboud. 4 cats“