This movie was nominated for best foreign Picture award at the 2018
Academy Awards and might have won an Oscar although I personally
think the scripting is so poor and biased against Arabs in the region
seeing them as pitted against one another in senseless fashion given
the language used by one to attack the other early on in the movie,
that I personally would have had the making of this movie banned
were I in charge of matters in Lebanon where this movie was shot
apparently, we are told.


The language I speak of, hard to fathom in any way to my sensibilities
on the matter, is having a man of Lebanese origins attack a man
from Palestine (a fellow arab certainly - with shared history
common bonds and in fact indistinguishable roots generally
speaking) telling him, get this - that he wished "Ariel Sharon
had wiped out all Palestinians" - Incredible to have such words
uttered by a man who should know better and I for one believe
that if it weren't scripted for a movie part, such words would
never appear in the realm of possibilities on the planet - let
alone Lebanon where such fine people come from as I have met over
the years.

For those unaware of who Sharon was, (he's dead now), I'd like to
quote from wikipedia as found a moment ago:

According to wikipedia:
Ariel Sharon was the Israeli Defence Minister at the time Israel
invaded Lebanon in 1982. An official enquiry found that he bore
"personal responsibility" for the Sabra and Shatila massacre in
Lebanon and recommended that he be fired as Defense Minister.
His role in the massacre led to him being known as the "Butcher
of Beirut" among Arabs.

The script, therefore suggests that a man with this reputation of
being a "war criminal" even as determined and agreed to by men of
conscience in Israel too (as the wikipedia article reads as quoted
above) could be used in a sentence in such a manner by a man of
Lebanon in command of his senses supposedly. I think not.
This movie belongs ultimately in the trash as meant to cause harm
to the spirit of kinship among good and decent folks of Arab descent
who I believe could never stoop so low in their disagreements with
one another as to back a "Sharon" against a fellow member of the
Arab family I am certain and believe wholeheartedly having known
many such people during my life and having seen their kinship with
 one another during my years growing up where I did. (Some arabs
did settle in East Africa, primarily on the island of Zanzibar
and elsewhere)

So the lawsuit against this Palestinian man, who in my own view
couldn't be blamed for striking out physically against such a
harmful assault to his humane sensibilities should certainly have
gone free rather than being sued - a case which was tried in two
levels of courts in this movie ultimately before a verdict we could
all agree with could be rendered.


The woman playing defence counsel (who is from the region I believe)
is completely credible in my view as a woman of the highest integrity
and moral understanding with wisdom all could benefit from I
daresay! Beautiful soul and spirit in my own regard of the situation
I say.

The opposing counsel was a man given to flights of fancy as to what
are legitimate arguments he could suppose to offer and indulge in
for moment at a time, swinging from one end to the other
in his ideas seemingly, and ultimately seeming to have no real moral
basis of legitimacy for most of what he said in support of his client
as scripted. I say he can do better, however he clearly needs
guidance as to what principles have merit in such situations as this.

It is clear that some personalities can become pigheaded and
unreasonable in their demands, positions, and ultimate intentions in
matters at hand such as this, especially in how the movie starts out.
Such men shouldn't taint an entire peoples and should be
sidelined from decision making affecting the area or in stirring up
hatreds in the region generally speaking in any way which is not
justified speech intended to bring an end to injustices in a humanly
conscionable manner - without threatening the world at large
and innocent folk that have no ideas to be of harm personally. On
the other hand, I think its mainly the script that taints the man
"Tony" in this way, I think he's a better man than that and this I
choose to believe with all my heart forever more amen.


Michael Rizzo Chessman
(moviesbyrizzo)

michael@moviesbyrizzo.com