Proving that nothing in the Middle East is straightforward, writer/director Ziad Doueiri has produced a powerful feature where a Lebanese Christian (an angry Adel Karam) takes a Palestinian refugee (a quietly nuanced Kamel el Basha) to court for assault.
It’s highly political as what starts as a seemingly minor issue escalates as memories of events from the civil war come to the fore. It may lack subtly in its telling and is a tad overlong but The Insult remains an enthralling insight into conflict and potential reconciliation.
The Insult was nominated for the 2018 Best Film in a Foreign Language Oscar (it lost out to Chile’s A Fantastic Woman).
Rating: 76%
Director: Ziad Doueiri (The Attack, Lila Says)
Writer: Ziad Doueiri (The Attack, Lila Says)
Main cast: Adel Karam (Caramel, Where Do We Go Now?), Kamel el Basha (Love, Theft and Other Entanglements), Diamand Abou Abboud (In Syria, Perfect Strangers)
An Opinion or Two 