L'insulte (2017)

After an emotional exchange between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee escalates, the men end up in a court case that gets national attention.

Director:

Ziad Doueiri

Writers:

Ziad Doueiri, Joelle Touma

Stars:

Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adel Karam	...	Tony Hanna
Kamel El Basha	...	Yasser Abdallah Salameh
Camille Salameh	...	Wajdi Wehbe
Diamand Bou Abboud	...	Nadine Wehbe (as Diamand Abou Abboud)
Rita Hayek	...	Shirine Hanna
Talal Jurdi	...	Talal (General Manager)
Christine Choueiri	...	Manal Salameh
Julia Kassar	...	Judge Colette Mansour
Rifaat Torbey	...	Samir Geagea
Carlos Chahine	...	Judge Chahine
Walid Abboud	...	Himself (Television Host)
Georges Daoud	...	Georges Hanna
Elie Njeim	...	Elie
Sami Hamdan	...	Ibrahim Nassar
Tony Mehanna	...	The President

Storyline

In today's Beirut, an insult blown out of proportions finds Toni, a Lebanese Christian, and Yasser, a Palestinian refugee, in court. From secret wounds to traumatic revelations, the media circus surrounding the case puts Lebanon through a social explosion, forcing Toni and Yasser to reconsider their lives and prejudices.

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Plot Keywords:

prejudice | insult | palestinian | racial tension | beirut | 

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Taglines:

Words Change Everything.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Cyprus Belgium Lebanon USA

Language:

Arabic

Release Date:

14 September 2017 (Lebanon)

Also Known As:

El insulto

Filming Locations:

Beirut, Lebanon

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,001,305, 19 April 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rouge International,Tessalit Productions,Ezekiel Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (HD)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The insult film was inspired by the 1975 Lebanese civil war.

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Quotes

Wajdi Wehbe: Wajdi Wehbe: No one has a monopoly on suffering.

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Connections

Referenced in Sean Bradley's First Reaction: 90th Academy Awards - Nominations (2018)

User Reviews

When Emotions Boil Over

I imagine "The Insult" will inspire strong feelings among certain viewers who have a close connection to the topic, and especially those from parts of the world that feel strongly one way or another about the Palestinian conflict. Most of the rest of us will probably learn a little something about the cultural and religious conflict between Lebanese Christians and Palestinians, something Americans (where I'm from) certainly don't ever learn much about unless we actively seek it out.

I very much enjoyed "The Insult" and I appreciated its attempts to be objective about a topic that most people who are directly affected by it can't be. People don't generally like to hear that there is often not a right or wrong side to a given issue but rather a vast middle area of gray, especially not in our current world climate where there's a "with us or against us" mentality about most things. But while I appreciated the film's approach, I couldn't help but feel it had a little bit of an after school special quality about it, a kind of preachy "can't we all just get along" tone that I don't necessarily disagree with but which feels a bit naive and facile in our extremely complicated times.

A worthy effort and one that has a lot to recommend it. It just didn't hit it out of the ball park.

Grade: A-