West Beyrouth (بيروت الغربية)‎ Film Review

Ziad Doueiri's 1998 film, West Beyrouth, seeks to understand the zeitgeist of the 1975 Lebanese Civil War. The director approaches this goal through the examination of a group of adolescents and their interactions, adventures, and concerns. Beirut is divided into Muslim and Christian districts, Al-Gharbiah (The West) and Al-Sharqiah (The East), respectively. Nonetheless, young adults such as the main protagonist, Tarek, continue to hate attending school, forming their first crushes, and arguing with their parents. In this sense, West Beirut attempts to chronicle ordinary life in Beirut in a time of uncertainty. The nature of Beirut is changing, but so is the nature of its people – especially the youth.

In his film, Doueiri largely deals with social concerns and shifts in the Beirut of the mid-1970s, rather than the political or military happenings. Therefore, the audience gains a grasp on a certain lifestyle of the people. For example, the entrenchment of the French system (especially in education) calls upon colonialist themes and notions of the East that had remained unchanged in European perspective for millennia. This attitude is represented in the first scene as Tarek is reprimanded for standing for nationalism over the French. As the film continues, the audience also learns of Tarek's distaste for French literature as well as Arabs; he proudly claims Phoenician origins. Moreover, Tarek serves as a bridge between the Muslim and Christian peoples of Beirut. His friends are a Muslim boy, Omar, and a Christian girl, May. Therefore, Tarek symbolizes a new generation of Lebanese – one concerned over the entity of nation, rather than faith. He represents a strand of hope for Lebanon's unity and future.

As the film highlights a contentious era in history, the film today is likely to evoke different feelings from different areas of the world. Both Americans and Lebanese are likely to view the era portrayed in West Beyrouth as foreshadowing the current situation in the country. Moreover, the film might surface a feeling of helplessness that the 1975 conflict presented in the film still continues today – religious factions are not at peace, internal politics has yet to mature, and Beirut is still threatened by the actions of bordering powers such as Syria and Israel. Similarly, Americans might place the film into their own narrative pertaining to Arabs and the Middle East. They might view the conflict in the film through the perspective of 9/11 and two wars. Contrarily, the social and light-hearted aspect of much of the film encourages the audience to appreciate certain nuances in shared humanity. And it is these nuances of love, compassion, and community in Doueiri's story that manage to dominate lesser themes.

Finally, what is the image of the greater Middle East and the Arab population that the audience will take with it when leaving the cinema? They will notice the amount of fluidity between the cultures of the West and Lebanon. The ubiquity of Western brand names, music, and pop culture references is clear. Audiences will notice the permeable nature of English words such as “Ok” – and knowledge of French literature, history, and language. Audiences will notice traits of 1970s Lebanon similar to 1970s United States or Europe: the pre-occupation with hedonism, sex, and smoking. Moreover, audiences will notice the spectrum of ideologies and lifestyles present in Lebanon. The film reaches the level of the common Lebanese street, past the heightened, contentious politics most viewers experience through the news. Viewers see Tarek's family that is liberal and forward-looking. But they also hear Omar's narration of his father's shift to a stricter adherence to Islam – forbidding music and television, requesting that his wife adopt the hijab. The audience realizes these ideological debates and dichotomies similar to ones ongoing in their own society. And through this exposure to an Arab film that is based on social realities and relationships, rather than politics, audiences imbibe the humanity that exists in the Middle East – bringing people closer together and wiser in their judgement.