Very well then, a review it is!

(Title has been changed at the request of Ms. Ivory:P)

Thanks to Ivory's very enlightening and touching film reviews and my regained ability to breathe (Ilhamdila and thanks dad!:D), I was able to watch my first and the last film in the Film Week at Kuwait University.

I'll leave the bulk of the review on you Ivory, you do it so well:)

I'll just share a couple of thoughts..

The one thing that kept ringing in my head from the very start, as I skimmed through the brochure reading the other movie synopsis, and all through the movie and on my way home with my dad was: "I wish I wish I knew about this before. I SO wanna watch the other movies"!

But at least I got to attend the finale:) And I must say it was wonderful.

It's a documentary called "Bits and Pieces", filmed in Lebanon after the civil war was over. It was around the time people were supposed to be moving on and building their lives again. The movie voiced these different people, with their very different outlooks on life and on the future. I loved the fact that the movie wasn't rooting for any side, it was simply exposing the different parts of the story, with equal importance and freedom..

Again, I'm not going to review it:) But I'll just talk about one scene that I thought rang so true to our lives. It was about a single mom raising her two small girls (adorable, especially the younger one!). She just sat there wondering how to raise her girls. Should she just raise them knowing that the only future they have is that of a wife raising kids, with minimum choices and freedoms. Or should she tell me they can be whatever they want, independent, free and outspoken, then risk having them shocked and out casted by a society that doesn't have space for such people.

She then talked about herself, said she never really felt she completely fit in the Lebanese society, she always felt a bit awkward, as she was raised in an European way.
But then (and here's the twist) when she moved to live in Europe, she just couldn't cope. She was too oriental to completely fit in there as well. She stood out, she simply didn't fit. Unable to cope, she returned to Lebanon.

How sad is that? When you can't fit in with your own people cuz you are too different, and yet not different enough to fit somewhere else... it just got me thinking...

Oh Oh I wanna say one more thing, can I?:P
Another part that totally cracked me up, was this girl from "Ashrafiyyeh", talking about how different "her people" are from "those muslims" in West Beirut. She said she just couldn't ever imagine marrying a Muslim, cuz their mentalities are nothing alike (until now I had no problem!).
I was thinking.. that's true. Afterall a girl raised in a certain very free way would find Islamic values restricting.
But then she had to go ahead and elaborate saying that the reason the christian society in Ashrafiyyeh is so different than the Muslim society was because it is- and I quote- "So pure and chaste", while apparently the Muslim counterpart leaves a lot to be desired!

Now far be it from me to label people or anything and I'm nothing close to a Lebanese expert, socially or politically. But I know enough to have the words "Pure" &"Ashrafiyyeh" in the same sentence elicit a wave of amused giggles!
But I could be mistaken of course. Admittedly, my knowledge stems mainly from my "muslim lebanese friends" and, well, "Ashrafiyyeh girls" jokes:) hehe
Yep, not the most reliable or impartial sources I must admit:)

But laughing aside, the movie showed how broken the society truly is, how seperated and estranged. It's sad really.
During the discussion afterwards, a girl pointed out that we just have too MUCH identity in our societies. Everyone is so obsessed and so rigid and hard-headed when it comes to their identity. She suggested people focus more on the common grounds we share, like the fact that we are all humans at the end of the day. Why should a difference on one point overshadow agreement on several?

As I walked out of the building with my dad, I overheard two college students talking. The girl said something that I found to be very true.
"The thing is, people only become too focused and rigid about their identities, when it is under attack".
Isn't that so true? Maybe if we stop attacking each other's identities and continuously trying to prove that ours is better, maybe just maybe, the differences will then dissolve. No one will care anymore. They will no longer be highlighted- the one and ony point of focus.

Just maybe.

Okay I'll shut up now, because as I said before, this is NOT a film review I promise:P (this honestly started out as a 2 liner before bed, and now it's a full-fledged post. I am out of control!!!)

Despite the fact that the film was captivating and I was so into it, by the time we reached the last 5 minutes I was actually dozing off for a second here or there. This is what I call the "Wednesday Phenomenon"- suddenly all the sleep debt strikes back, with vengeance!

And, when Mr. sleep strikes, there is no fighting back;)

Off to my bed I go!