West Beyrouth (À l'abri les enfants) (1998)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Ziad Doueiri

Writer:

Ziad Doueiri (writer)

Release Date:

30 October 1998 (Norway)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In April, 1975, civil war breaks out; Beirut is partitioned along a Moslem-Christian line. Tarek is in high school...

Plot Keywords:

Lebanon War

Awards:

6 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Rami Doueiri	...	Tarek Noueri
Naamar Sahli
Mohamad Chamas	...	Omar (as Mouhidine Guerra)
Rola Al Amin	...	May (as Rolande Amin)
Carmen Lebbos	...	Hala Noueri - Tarek's mother (as Carmen Loubbos)
Joseph Bou Nassar	...	Riad Noueri - Tarek' father (as Joseph Nassar)
Liliane Nemri	...	Neighbor (as Liliane Nemry)
Leïla Karam	...	Oum Walid - the madame (as Leila Karam)
Mahmoud Mabsout	...	Hassan - the baker
Hassan Farhat	...	Roadblock Militiaman
Fadi Abou Khalil	...	Bakery Militiaman (as Fadi Abi Samra)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aïda Sabra	...	School Principal (uncredited)

Directed by
Ziad Doueiri

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ziad Doueiri		writer

Produced by
Bjørn Eivind Aarskog	....	co-producer
Rachid Bouchareb	....	producer
Jean Bréhat	....	producer

Original Music by
Stewart Copeland

Cinematography by
Ricardo Jacques Gale

Film Editing by
Dominique Marcombe

Production Design by
Hamze Nasrallah

Sound Department
Nicolas Cantin	....	sound
David Rit	....	sound assistant

Visual Effects by
Ronan Broudin	....	digital compositor

Camera and Electrical Department
Gus Khazaka	....	grip

Music Department
John Bilezikjian	....	musician: flute
Jeff Seitz	....	music co-producer

Production Companies

• 38 Productions
• ACCI
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• Ciné Libre
• Douri Films
• Exposed Film Productions AS
• La Sept-Arte
• Ministère de la Culture de la Republique Française
• Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK)
• Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF)

Distributors

• Angel Films (Scandinavia)
• Cowboy Booking International (1999) (USA) (subtitled)
• Swift Distribution
• Tadrart Films
• Vértigo Films (Spain)
• trigon-film (2004) (Switzerland) (DVD) (subtitled)

Also Known As:

Beyrouth Al Gharbiyya (Lebanon: Arabic title)
West Beirut (Canada: English title)
West Beyrouth (France)

Runtime:

105 min | Argentina:105 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

France | Norway | Lebanon | Belgium

Language:

Arabic | French

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

France:U | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Beirut, Lebanon

Company:

38 Productions

Trivia:

The title "West Beyrouth" has the first word "West" in English, and the spelling of the second word "Beyrouth" in French. The director said that it's an allegory to the trilingual cultrue existing in Lebanon: Arabic being the native language, and French and English being the 2 other quintessential languages spoken there.

Goofs:

Factual errors: On 13 April 1975, while class is in session, Tarek watches the ambush of the bus from the balcony of his school in Christian-dominated East Beirut. 13 April 1975 was a Sunday. Schools in East Beirut are closed on Sundays.

Movie Connections:

References Airport 1975 (1974)

Soundtrack:

Ya doray Shami

First Class cinema

I wouldn't know how a non-Lebanese would look at this film. But to me, it's a very personal movie because I've lived similar events, even if 10 years later. It's definitely one of my favourite movies. And I have to say that the 3 leads have done great jobs for first-timers. "Carmen Lebbos" as the mother was superb, but my favourite character will always be "Leila Karam as" "Emm walid"