Nuts is a dark Tarentinoesque tale taking place in the underworld of Lebanese society. It shows us a world of drug addicts, gamblers, mob bosses, depraved bourgeois and criminals. Lana, a housewife suffocating from an ordinary uneventful life, seeks adventure in the dangerous world of high-stakes illegal gambling, sponsored by ruthless mob lord Qassem. Jenny, her coke-addict seductress friend tags along the ride, looking for a tougher breed of men, one she can't seem to find in Beirut's middle-class society, and falls in love with Wael, a tormented hit-man with a dark secret...
This crude, uncensored movie expresses the existential malaise of a Lebanese post-war generation, a disenchanted youth where traditions and family values disintegrate, where random bombings can happen anytime, anywhere, and no one would be surprised. All the characters are rough, merciless, like the country they grew up in. They live without hope, except for pushing the boundaries a bit further each time, be it in gambling, drug use or passion.
The best thing about this film is that, unlike so many Lebanese movies of its generation, it doesn't feel like a touristic cliché promoting Lebanon's so called "joie-de-vivre", far from it. In fact, the only positive message about Lebanon one could find here is a devastatingly gorgeous female cast, reinforcing the myth of the Lebanese femme fatale, a unique Oriental and liberal beauty. The second cool thing is that, for both director and screenwriter, this is only their first work: with a smashing debut like this, we really look forward to their next production.
This crude, uncensored movie expresses the existential malaise of a Lebanese post-war generation, a disenchanted youth where traditions and family values disintegrate, where random bombings can happen anytime, anywhere, and no one would be surprised. All the characters are rough, merciless, like the country they grew up in. They live without hope, except for pushing the boundaries a bit further each time, be it in gambling, drug use or passion.
The best thing about this film is that, unlike so many Lebanese movies of its generation, it doesn't feel like a touristic cliché promoting Lebanon's so called "joie-de-vivre", far from it. In fact, the only positive message about Lebanon one could find here is a devastatingly gorgeous female cast, reinforcing the myth of the Lebanese femme fatale, a unique Oriental and liberal beauty. The second cool thing is that, for both director and screenwriter, this is only their first work: with a smashing debut like this, we really look forward to their next production.
