forget about the students movement, the syrian occupation, the deep subject that this movie should have been about and all your anticipations. this movie is plain silly. and it's the fault of the writer; he should've chosen from the first place what the movie should have been about and not shove all the cliché ideas into a movie supposedly talking about a subject that is dear to our hearts. he makes a teenage love story that isn't even about the main character!! he squeezed a scene in a bathtub! he managed to make the "adiyeh" something that the students celebrate by drinking and discussing laaaaaame subjects!! WHY??? how could the producers read the script and think that it would make a good movie?
7 Reviews
THE Movie of the Year!
fifiabdo10021 November 2011
I have to express my big surprise about Rue Huvelin. It is a great movie filled with emotions and real time images. I have never seen before that a Lebanese movie with such a good level of authenticity and credibility. All the youth in Lebanon and abroad will feel concerned with the students' everyday life and the universal fight for freedom.
With the huge marketing campaign that has been done about the film, I think it's up to my expectations. Though technically, we can't really talk about the best image ever but the deepness of the story and its content and message takes you to another level of involvement while watching the movie.
Thank you Mounir Maasri, Thank you Maroun Nassar, Thank you Rue Huvelin...
With the huge marketing campaign that has been done about the film, I think it's up to my expectations. Though technically, we can't really talk about the best image ever but the deepness of the story and its content and message takes you to another level of involvement while watching the movie.
Thank you Mounir Maasri, Thank you Maroun Nassar, Thank you Rue Huvelin...
Should have gone straight to DVD.
royjamhouri27 November 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Rue Huvelin is one of these rare movies that successfully manage to fail in every single department of film making.
The screenplay is terribly weak. The main characters get entangled in bizarre love triangles that are quickly forgotten and stay unresolved. The choice of scenes and dialogs does no justice whatsoever to what the movie should have been revolving around : How students took upon themselves to free their country. Instead, we are treated to a movie that wants itself character driven but that refuses to meet the requirements of such a genre.
Since the acting is mostly done by badly directed amateurs, the performances are often hilarious and anti-climatic. It often feels as if there wasn't any director on set during the shoot. The actors seem to constantly float between shallow emotions. There are a few good moments, but they're all ruined by very, very questionable directing decisions, e.g the zoom in on Betty's character when she speaks about her missing son.
The word butchering best describes the film's editing. Cuts often disturb the viewer and feel unnatural. Some dissolves look like they were done on Powerpoint. The editing systematically fails to help the actors, to build rhythm or tension and to engage the viewer.
Image and sound reach a new low in cinema. It is barely believable that money and responsibilities have been given to technicians whose work is the work of someone who has never made a movie in his life. One can also ask himself if any color grading has been done or if different cameras have been used. Some scenes are in Sepia, others support a contrast level that is proper to dream or nightmare sequences when what we see is exactly the opposite. Days and night are basically the same in interiors except one scene that looks like it's happening on Mars. There is no sound design whatsoever, or harmony between the visual and the soundtrack. Footsteps are either missing or not matching the surface the character is walking on. Sound effects are cheap, often to the point of being ridiculous. All in all, Rue Huvelin is a bouquet of all the technical mistakes any filmmaker should avoid like the plague.
Which brings me to the directing. To put it simply, the movie would have been better without a director. Such use of zooms hasn't even been seen in the cheapest TV series you can think of. Emotions throughout the movie are portrayed with an unprecedented shallowness and pure lack of culture.
The only element worthy of the big screen in Rue Huvelin is Adel's performance.
Only in Lebanon will you see a movie so blatantly weak reach the theaters. It is sad that a subject so rich and complex was so poorly exploited. Rue Huvelin is the perfect image of the situation in Lebanon at that time: A sorry mess.
The screenplay is terribly weak. The main characters get entangled in bizarre love triangles that are quickly forgotten and stay unresolved. The choice of scenes and dialogs does no justice whatsoever to what the movie should have been revolving around : How students took upon themselves to free their country. Instead, we are treated to a movie that wants itself character driven but that refuses to meet the requirements of such a genre.
Since the acting is mostly done by badly directed amateurs, the performances are often hilarious and anti-climatic. It often feels as if there wasn't any director on set during the shoot. The actors seem to constantly float between shallow emotions. There are a few good moments, but they're all ruined by very, very questionable directing decisions, e.g the zoom in on Betty's character when she speaks about her missing son.
The word butchering best describes the film's editing. Cuts often disturb the viewer and feel unnatural. Some dissolves look like they were done on Powerpoint. The editing systematically fails to help the actors, to build rhythm or tension and to engage the viewer.
Image and sound reach a new low in cinema. It is barely believable that money and responsibilities have been given to technicians whose work is the work of someone who has never made a movie in his life. One can also ask himself if any color grading has been done or if different cameras have been used. Some scenes are in Sepia, others support a contrast level that is proper to dream or nightmare sequences when what we see is exactly the opposite. Days and night are basically the same in interiors except one scene that looks like it's happening on Mars. There is no sound design whatsoever, or harmony between the visual and the soundtrack. Footsteps are either missing or not matching the surface the character is walking on. Sound effects are cheap, often to the point of being ridiculous. All in all, Rue Huvelin is a bouquet of all the technical mistakes any filmmaker should avoid like the plague.
Which brings me to the directing. To put it simply, the movie would have been better without a director. Such use of zooms hasn't even been seen in the cheapest TV series you can think of. Emotions throughout the movie are portrayed with an unprecedented shallowness and pure lack of culture.
The only element worthy of the big screen in Rue Huvelin is Adel's performance.
Only in Lebanon will you see a movie so blatantly weak reach the theaters. It is sad that a subject so rich and complex was so poorly exploited. Rue Huvelin is the perfect image of the situation in Lebanon at that time: A sorry mess.
Rue Huvelin, a movie to remember
pierrot-aramoun21 November 2011
I've been following the movie's updates on facebook from about 2 months and I've been thinking what kind of story will it be... is it a pure documentary, a fiction, a fake trial of putting on the big screen a historical period of Lebanon? November 17 came, I went to see the film... I couldn't handle myself crying watching this successful reconstruction of the Manifestations, seeing finally the reality of behind the scenes of this battle for freedom.
I was born during the Lebanese bloody civil war of 1975, and have never seen any document, any movie, any book talking clearly and smoothly about a certain period in Lebanon, this period where the youth had a say and was battling for its freedom against the Syrian Occupation.
A really tough subject...
I won't go into details but it is definitely a movie to watch, finally something real, something we can see ourselves in!
I was born during the Lebanese bloody civil war of 1975, and have never seen any document, any movie, any book talking clearly and smoothly about a certain period in Lebanon, this period where the youth had a say and was battling for its freedom against the Syrian Occupation.
A really tough subject...
I won't go into details but it is definitely a movie to watch, finally something real, something we can see ourselves in!
A very bad film.
ZahiFarah10 December 2011
And its a shame really, with such a powerful theme (based on a true story) and the supposed 1 million dollars invested in the production of this "thing" you refer to as film , one would imagine you'd hire a real Director and/or Actors.
But thats not really the big problem with this film, although they are quite big. No, the real problem is Cinematography, it is, truly, one of the worst Cinematography I've ever seen on screen. It seems Rupen Vosgimurukian is trying very hard at being very bad. Oh well...
Otherwise, what can I say? It seems nowadays that most good films get banned, and most bad films get screened here in Lebanon.
But don't worry, that'll change.
My ten thousand cents.
But thats not really the big problem with this film, although they are quite big. No, the real problem is Cinematography, it is, truly, one of the worst Cinematography I've ever seen on screen. It seems Rupen Vosgimurukian is trying very hard at being very bad. Oh well...
Otherwise, what can I say? It seems nowadays that most good films get banned, and most bad films get screened here in Lebanon.
But don't worry, that'll change.
My ten thousand cents.
Rue Huvelin, a new page in the Lebanese Cinema
sabine-miled29 November 2011
Rue Huvelin is about 7 young Lebanese students fighting for their freedom during the Syrian Occupation in Lebanon. We can see the contrast in their everyday life where they never know whether they'll be captured or will be studying on the next day.
Rue Huvelin is not only about this genuine idea to finally talk about a specific period of the recent history of Lebanon. Rue Huvelin is also about 7 different characters: Joe-Daniel the ambitious, spontaneous and fully involved in his cause (the acting of Robert Cremona was really great!). Serge the opportunist but involved in his cause, he is romantically involved with Yasmine. Yasmine who comes from a conservative environment, participates actively in the different movements. Yves, the ambitious journalist whose career will take among his friendship with Joe-Daniel. Wadih the funniest character but the nicest is also involved in the struggle for freedom. Carla and Firas are the only ones that don't seem to be interested in their friends' cause but they're always here to support them. We finally see, Nada (Betty Taoutel) and Abou Leil (Adel Karam) who takes the parents' role. With this mixture and diversity in the characters we see the authenticity and credibility of the history which is more accurate when it comes to acting where you will see natural, spontaneous and true play.
However, I see it necessary to mention the incredible music originally created and composed for the movie itself. With the beautiful and magical theme composed by Christopher Slaski, Rue Huvelin enters a more dramatic dimension that makes it more intense and touching. In addition to that, we have Alexis Rault compositions that adds modern, young and joyful notes to the movie.
Even though you will sometime notice a little weakness in some images, there is no way you will go out of the movie without having felt something different, something where you start asking questions about your thoughts and believes.
Rue Huvelin is a new page in the Cinema Industry in Lebanon, it adds something different, something new, something REAL.
Let's hope for the best...!
Rue Huvelin is not only about this genuine idea to finally talk about a specific period of the recent history of Lebanon. Rue Huvelin is also about 7 different characters: Joe-Daniel the ambitious, spontaneous and fully involved in his cause (the acting of Robert Cremona was really great!). Serge the opportunist but involved in his cause, he is romantically involved with Yasmine. Yasmine who comes from a conservative environment, participates actively in the different movements. Yves, the ambitious journalist whose career will take among his friendship with Joe-Daniel. Wadih the funniest character but the nicest is also involved in the struggle for freedom. Carla and Firas are the only ones that don't seem to be interested in their friends' cause but they're always here to support them. We finally see, Nada (Betty Taoutel) and Abou Leil (Adel Karam) who takes the parents' role. With this mixture and diversity in the characters we see the authenticity and credibility of the history which is more accurate when it comes to acting where you will see natural, spontaneous and true play.
However, I see it necessary to mention the incredible music originally created and composed for the movie itself. With the beautiful and magical theme composed by Christopher Slaski, Rue Huvelin enters a more dramatic dimension that makes it more intense and touching. In addition to that, we have Alexis Rault compositions that adds modern, young and joyful notes to the movie.
Even though you will sometime notice a little weakness in some images, there is no way you will go out of the movie without having felt something different, something where you start asking questions about your thoughts and believes.
Rue Huvelin is a new page in the Cinema Industry in Lebanon, it adds something different, something new, something REAL.
Let's hope for the best...!
Great disappointment since the cause is very dear to my heart
Nadimghaoui19 November 2011
Content does contain some reference to scenes but not detailed spoilers I am really sorry to report that "Rue Huvelin" was a Great disappointment I can confidently say that I did not leave the theater in respect with the cause and felt nauseated all through the film. I really hope the theater where I watched is to blame since the picture, sound quality and the introduction: Were a complete disaster. The picture quality is almost all dead completely dim lighting and dead skin tone color (as if they filmed it entirely with florescent DeDo lights)i would understand the purpose of creating a mood but not for the entire film. For the sound I had to read the subtitles in almost the entire movie since the background sound was so loud and couldn't hear the main characters ( as if it was all recorded using a low quality boom mic)For the camera movement and shot list: Also a disaster where the camera movement left me with a feeling of nausea and the cutting was horribly done and many shots were out of focus entirely (ex: the scene in the bathroom and the action in the mirror) many of the scenes failed due to lack of close up and we missed so many small details that would leave the audience unaware of what "this" shot is trying to show Story: The student sexual relationship was horribly portrayed and irrelevant with the main point of the movie it was too exaggerated not in the sexual sense but it was too present and irrelevant with the publicity the film got.And there was too much irrelevant scenes that had nothing to do with the main characters or cause or story (scene where the guy calls a girl after seeing his friend having his Gf over) All in all I would like to encourage the Lebanese youth in exploring the film and directing field and to show sincerely what the students passed through in that time but unfortunately this film came to a great disappointment with all my respect to the cause in which I was involved and supported with all my heart I really hope that the theater I watched it at (Sodeco cinema) is to be blamed ( I seriously feel they skipped a good part of the beginning starting of randomly and hope that one of the speakers responsible for the main characters audio was off since these 2 things alone cannot allow this movie to be in theater and can only make it a university project or a film to be watched at school. I tried to consider it a documentary but still it didn't succeed in this type
My apologies if my point of view is too harsh but I was hoping this film would show the rest of the world what really happened and what we passed through but it failed ( people in the theater were laughing at dramatic sad moments they were crying of laughter and there was a general numbness in the theater not wanting to express their nausea and disappointment we even asked the theater to higher the sound if possible they tried but nothing changed and in some parts the sound was good so it must have been the onset sound) Best regards and better luck next time update: instead of taking criticism like adults you just rate my point of view as bad well there were much more professional points of views that roamed around the same subject as mine and they got the same peace of cake but the rating is clear... Good luck
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
