Ziad Doueiri, the writer-director of ''West Beirut'' (as well as the lead actor's older brother), shares in his hero's delight. He understands the way that urban warfare could look like nothing so much as a vacation to a brazen adolescent with an instinct for troublemaking. Doueiri, after immigrating to the U.S., began his career working as a cameraman for Quentin Tarantino, but ''West Beirut'' feels closer in spirit to the Louis Malle of ''Murmur of the Heart.''
The film's most resonant pleasure is the thrill Doueiri takes in ripping the veil off of contemporary Arab life, viewing it as something funky and casual and cosmopolitan. ''West Beirut'' does meander a bit, yet it has a fractious, clear-eyed fusion of comedy, innocence, romance, and sudden danger, and, in its portayal of Tarek's parents (Joseph Bou Nassar and Carmen Lebbos), the film becomes a haunting testimonial to the fact that war in the Middle East isn't just a matter of ideology and death. War is also a peaceful, normal home with a Molotov cocktail tossed into the living room.
Add your comment
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.