stephen  d. leece

Filmed in the immediate aftermath of the 34 Day War between Israel and Hezbollah, Under the Bombs is the work of a true artist- somehow or other Lebanese director Philippe Aractingi has managed to create a film that is modest yet simultaneously audacious. In both case he delivers admirably.

With a sympathetic performance from Nada Abu Farhat who returns to Beirut from Dubai in search of her infant son following the ceasefire we get a glimpse into the complexities of Lebanese life as she taxis from Beirut to the South in the company of  a Christian cabbie played by Georges Khabbaz.

The deeper into the ruined country we go in search of the missing child, we see the modern Sunni professional woman Abu Farhat having to buy a hijab as she enters Shia Hezbollah territory. Khabbaz, the jobbing cabbie reveals he has a brother in exile in Israel for fighting with the South Lebanon Army- Israel’s defeated local allies in the war against Hezbollah and the Lebanese Resistance (1982-2000).

All these social, religious and political complications are deftly handled as the film reaches it’s heart-breaking climax.

A simple tale, well-told, and beautifully shot in the most chaotic and complicated of  conditions. It is 96 minutes well-spent.