The Insult (2017)- Review

The Insult (2017)  is a movie directed by Ziad Doueiri and written by Joelle Touma. This movie can be characterized as a drama with an emphasis on historicism. Specifically, the Palestinian situation in Lebanon. The movie utilizes the Lebanese dialect (a sub-category of the Levantine dialect). The movie opens with the protagonist, Tony Hanna (played by Adel Karam), at a rally for the Lebanese Forces (a Christian group). Immediately, as spectators, we can infer that there will be some political ideals communicated throughout this story. The main conflict in this movie centers around Tony Hanna, a Christian with extreme opposing views towards the Palestinian’s inhabitance in Lebanon. Moreover, Tony Hanna is confronted with a Palestinian man (Yasser Abdullah Salameh) who wishes to fix his pipe that is leaking water onto the street. Tony exhibits prejudice behavior towards Yasser, even stating that “Sharon should’ve killed you all.” (referring to the previous Israeli Prime-Minister, Ariel Sharon). As the movie continues, we are stunned by the hatred of Tony and the patience and virtue of Yasser. The conflict between the two men ultimately leads to a tension-filled trial in the Lebanese court. Throughout this trial, the past of Tony Hanna is exposed and we learn why he has Palestinian-specific hatred. Tony Hanna was a young boy when the Lebanese civil war broke out and forced him and his father to escape the coastal town of Douma. Douma was experiencing a massacre of Christians, by a group called Jind Allah (a mix of Palestinian and Lebanese Muslims). Here, it is clear that Tony Hanna’s hate stems from the pain he experienced as a young boy. After attracting the attention of the entire country, the two men go talk to the Lebanese President. As the meeting was a failure, the two men got in their cars to leave. However, Yasser Salameh’s car would not start. As Tony Hanna’s day-job is fixing cars, he steps out of his vehicle and helps Yasser start his car. This was a powerful moment in the movie as in that moment, Tony Hanna put aside his hatred to help Yasser. This movie is very important as it exposes many sentiments following the Lebanese civil war. It also exposes the true abuses faced by the Palestinian’s in Lebanon, such as : Not being able to gain citizenship, not being able to work outside the refugee camps, and lastly not being regarded as an equal. These sentiments are still alive and true today. The party that Tony Hanna is a part of (The Lebanese Forces) still supports the idea of a Christian Lebanon, a Lebanon that does not open up its borders for those of different nations and especially different religions. In considering the Syrian conflict today, and the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it is important to recognize the treatment of the foreign refugee in Lebanon, while also recognizing the sentiment’s of the war-torn Lebanese people themselves, in order to foster a more unified and futuristic Lebanon that is not held down by the chains of its past.