Starring
Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Rita Hayek, Camille Salameh, Diamand Bou
Abboud, Julia Kassar, Talal Jurdi, Christine Choueiri. Directed by
Ziad Doueiri. (2017/112 min).
AVAILABLE
ON BLU-RAY FROM
Review
by Fluffy the Fearlessđ
As
The Insult so effectively demonstrates, sometimes it doesn't
take much for things to spin wildly out of control.
Lebanese
auto mechanic Tony Hanna (Adel Karam) and his pregnant wife have
a small apartment in a run-down section of Beirut. The neighborhood is
undergoing renovation supervised by Yasser Salameh (Kamel
El Basha), a Palestinian refugee. When Yassir informs Tony that his
balcony drain pipe needs to be repaired, Tony refuses to let him near
it. Out of courtesy, Yassir fixes it, anyway, only for Tony to
angrily - and inexplicably - smash it to pieces. Yassir calls him a
"fucking prick," which infuriates both Tony and Yassir's
boss, who insists Yassir visit Tony at his garage and apologize.
Though
Yassir does indeed show up, he finds it difficult to swallow his
pride and say anything, which is understandable, since Tony has been
a complete asshole about the whole incident. Assuming no apology is
coming, Tony goes on a verbal tirade about his hatred of Palestinians, capping it off with, "I wish Ariel Sharon had
wiped you all out." The viewer eventually learns just how
incendiary that statement is, but we still get the gist that it's a
pretty terrible thing for a Lebanese Christian to say to a Palestinian.
In the meantime, Yassir punches Tony, breaking a few ribs.
 |
| "When I said 'dance like no one's watching,' I didn't mean here." |
Thus
begins a conflict that escalates into a contentious court battle, with Tony suing
Yassir, not only for physical damages, but for the incident being a
roundabout cause of his wife's miscarriage. The case is exacerbated
by the men's lawyers, who publicly politicize the incident.
Tony's lawyer, in particular, seems to have an agenda beyond simple
justice for his client. As the trial becomes a media circus, the
community is divided as old wounds - stemming from an old wartime
conflict between Lebanese Christians and Palestinians - are
re-opened. It's at this point we learn much more about the pasts of
both men. While we don't necessarily condone their headstrong
behavior - especially Tony's - at least we begin to understand it.
Furthermore, neither man intended things to get this out-of-hand.
 |
| Yassir cuts pizza like a boss. |
Not
only is The Insult a compelling courtroom drama, it's a
thought-provoking study of how extensively past experiences shape
one's personal values and prejudices. Not only can it cloud your
judgment, it threatens to destroy any empathy for those whose views
differ from yours. That's about as timely as movies get right now. I
can personally think of a lot of people who'd benefit from witnessing
the epiphanies of these characters.
The
Insult is also the first Lebanese film ever to earn an Oscar
nomination (in this writer's opinion, it should have won). In
addition to its thematic relevance, the movie's massively entertaining, with
outstanding performances. Karam, in particular, stands out among the
great cast, doing a masterful job of making us empathize with someone
we initially despise. The Insult is an all-around terrific
film, not to be missed.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
"CONVERSATIONS
FROM THE QUAD" - A
conversation with Ziad Doueiri and Richard Pena.
KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEE-OW! LIKE TAUNTING A MOUSE TO DEATH
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