Asking The Questions We Avoid: A Film Review of “The Insult”

The Insult, directed by the renowned and controversial Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri, is an intense, thought provoking film. Critics worldwide have praised it and it was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2018 Oscars. However, it has sparked its fair share of controversy as well; it was banned in Jordan and Palestine, and was divisive in its own home country of Lebanon.

This controversy is not surprising when considering its subject matter. The film digs deeply into conflicts that have had profound impacts in Lebanon and the Arab World as a whole. Specifically, the conflict between Lebanese Christians and Palestinian refugees was examined. The tensions between these two groups, spawned largely by the Lebanese Civil War, run deep within the social and cultural fabric of Lebanon.

The film explores these heavy topics through the interactions of two main characters: a Palestinian refugee named Yasser and a Lebanese Christian named Tony. Yasser gets mad at Tony after Tony’s faulty gutter leaks on him, causing the two men to argue. As they get more heated, Tony ends up uttering a vicious insult to Yasser and Palestinians in general. The fight escalates to the point where violence ensues and both men find themselves in a courtroom. As the case proceeds, it starts to receive national attention and has a very divisive effect on the Lebanese public as it brings back old tensions and arguments from the Civil War that have been long repressed.

Perhaps the most fascinating scenes from the film are those that happen in the courtroom where the lawyers of Tony and Yasser defend the actions of their respective clients. Everyone quickly realizes that the case they are dealing with is far deeper than some negative words and a faulty gutter. The struggles dealt by each man that caused these tensions is explored at their fundamental roots.

In effect, the film becomes a thought-provoking discussion about human nature. Its main topic is about a force that has affected all people in one way or another: oppression. The work exposes how both of the men’s lives have been negatively impacted by destruction at the hand of the other’s community. These realizations eventually result in what is now the film’s trademark quote: “no one has a monopoly on suffering.”

This discourse within the film is what makes it powerful. Of course, it is relevant and deeply relatable to the Lebanese because it deals with the specifics of their Civil War. But its relevance goes deeper to the point where it can be appreciated by everyone. The oppression and prejudices towards different groups of people are present in all societies and cultures. The film attempts to hold a dialogue on a difficult topic in creative ways with multiple perspectives.

While some remarks and quotes can make it clear why the film was controversial and even banned in some countries, the value of The Insult is its courage to enter a very sensitive realm of discussion that most films would rarely touch with such depth. Overall, it accomplished this in a nuanced manner. Regardless, The Insult makes viewers think about profound questions about conflicts and prejudices that are not often asked, and sometimes even avoided.