Costa Brava, Lebanon (2021) User Reviews

A heartwarming, slowburning portrait of tightknit, loving family life

[imseeg · 7/10 · 19 September 2022]

The good: this movie has got true heart and soul. Such a relief to see a movie about real humans again!

More good: the acting in this movie is honest and true to life, which creates an endearing portrait of a loving family, whom we get to see live together from day to day.

This may sound a bit tedious and although it is quite a slowburning story, it never became a tedious watch, because of the true to life emotions and situations we get to see this family go through.

A movie focussed on quite ordinary situations, nothing spectacular actually. Just everyday life, which we all know ourselves from our very own family lives. But still interesting and heartwarming to watch...

More good: the direction and photography are quite impressive, but without being flashy or in my face. Everything about this movie is so tranquil and serene. I loved that!

We simply get to see, up close and personal, the life and love of a tightknit family. Family bonds are universal and so is this wonderful story...

Don't Tip Over

[daoldiges · 7/10 · 20 July 2022]

Costa Brava, Lebanon focuses on Walid, his wife Souraya, and their two daughters Tala 17 and Rim 9 as they live their lives in a rural, self-sustaining existence away from the chaos and filth of Beirut. All seems to be going well until a landfill is constructed right next to their property, sometimes even spilling over into it. All four of the main characters are unique and provide something of interest to the story. All of the performances are very solid. Their world is void of social media, television and the main leisure/pleasure is a very nice sized swimming pool. For me the best part was just observing the family members interact with one another to provide some touching moments throughout. The landfill highlights what I suspect was an existing friction between Walid and Sourayan, he wanting to dig in his heels in spite of the landfill and she desiring her life back in Beirut, filled with music, friends, activity. Things come to a head and some hard decisions have been made. I grew attached to all of the characters and as such found the ending a bit lacking something for me. Nevertheless, Costa Brava, Lebanon has a warm heart and one that I enjoyed spending time with.

Great Acting, Sober Story

[albertval-69560 · 7/10 · 7 November 2022]

This is a cautionary tale about how the environment can possible cause the dissolution of a young family. This is a sensitive story megged by a promising director, Mounia Aki.

You feel for the family who only wants to live a better, more peaceful life with fresh air and a lot of greenery. But this wasn't to be.

The lead actors (Salah Bakri and Nadine Labaki) dish out commendable performances. You relate with their anxiety, disappointment and frustration as they try to fight for their right to live where they are. The daughters played by young Nadia Charbel and Seana Restom display a mature understanding of their respective roles. It's delightful watching them play their part with sensitivity.

This film also tackles burning social issues: pollution and effective waste management. The message is clear: if even the mountains aren't safe from landfills, then mayhaps, we're doomed.

Heartily felt movie

[kawtharffathalla · 9/10 · 24 May 2023]

I felt this film with all my heart!!! It was nothing short of what I expected and it's defiantly going in my favorites list of the year. A remarkable watch I highly recommend.

(Directing / Writing / Story) Mounia Akl is a name to look out for in the region! Ever since I watched her short Submarine there was something about it I really loved and made me look forward to watching her feature debut and I'm excited for what she has coming next!

The storytelling in the film is incredibly sensational, very impressive writing!! The way it succeeds to portray so many layers of social realism and political commentary into one film without it ever feeling too much is smooth and smartly done....

I really liked how all the storylines are in someway intertwined with each other and projected on their own in what feels like different transformative chapters although it does not directly show that but rather done through great editing that allows the story and underlying emotions to touch your soul and provoke your thoughts on them.

And like with most Lebanese films (which I love that) the film speaks more than its simple premise. It's a beautifully complex portrait of a family's dynamic in a phase of their lives, a love letter to Lebanon perhaps, a political statement, an environmental reflection, and above all of that it is a societal commentary at its core.

I also liked the calmness of the atmosphere and the way the narrative softly unfolds itself in a critical and complex crisis, which was also reflected highly in the visuals which profounds the cinematic experience.

(Characters / Performances) A strong story backed by strong acting creates magic!! Every actor did an amazing job delivering a high performance with contrasting emotions.

Nadine Labaki has unbeatable magic as always, her chemistry with Saleh Bakri worked nicely!! And the little girl (actually twins) had a wonderful charm to them, I wished to see more of Yumna Marwan though.

The character development was rich and beautifully done! Each character had their own depth that you sense from their screen presence on its own which I love! It is also interesting how they are all in the same living experience together yet it's shaping each one of them differently. The focus on the vulnerability and how the director managed to make them live it was an important aspect allowing us to engage and connect with them.

I also liked the use of surrealism symbols to convey internal thoughts, especially the night scene of Nadine Labaki's character, which was one of the most beautiful scenes!!!

(Cinematography) I loved the cinematography by Joe Saade👏🏼👏🏼 it was beautifully powerful and felt so serene wherein you feel it's not supposed to and that's where it just really works!

The realism in the visuals was very immersive, atmospheric, and portrayed the needed complex simplicity.

The camera language was paced calmly with the narrative resulting in stunning imagery that isn't just beautiful but helps to paint a bigger picture for the audience. The shifts in the tones were nicely implied to convey the two extremes of the story.

Bizarre and mainly for a local audience

[qui_j · 2/10 · 11 November 2022]

This is a low budget Lebanese film that deals mainly with the corruption in that country. Money allows one to do pretty much anything, and regulatory oversight by the government is non-existent since they pretty much are the drivers of institutional corruption. The story is wafer thin and has little substance to it. The family is dysfunctional and the theme itself would be of little interest outside of Lebanon. The acting is mechanical but to be fair, they really did not appear to have a proper script from which to work. The pace of the movie is slow and since there is little in the way of a story and a script, it is an absolute chore to watch. I managed only thirty minutes!

Don't take a life seriously

[MohyZamora · 8/10 · 4 June 2022]

Everyone have his own life,feelings,nostalgia Even if we are family And our life have moments Love, Anger, laugh, Grief and we have to live all this And don't take a life seriously

I love this movie.

Beautiful and moving

[paulsson-rebecca · 10/10 · 7 January 2024]

A lovely and slow-moving story of a family where the parents have decided to isolate themselvea from the destructive outside world only to have it literally dumped at their doorstep. The stark contrast between the family's little paradise and the garbage dump reqlky brings home the realisation of what humans are doing to the nature that we love. The new reality forces the family members, especially the parents, to reconsider some life choices. Also a growing up story of the two daughters and their changing relationship with the parents. The past of the mother and father and what caused them to leave Beirut is slowly revealed. Also small hints of magical realism. The entire movie takes places around the house but does not feel boring or claustrophobic.