ametaphysicalshark Ziad Doueiri, whose credentials as a cameraman include "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown", crafts one of the most memorable directorial debuts of the 90's in this coming of age tale set in Beirut in 1975 after the civil war breaks out. The film is a remarkably realistic (and obviously autobiographical) portrayal of a Beirut at the time as well as the numerous social and religious rifts in Lebanese culture, but is mostly focused on the experiences of three teenagers, Tarek (the main character, played by the director's brother Rami), Omar (his friend), and May, a Christian girl who recently moved to Beirut.That is what makes this film completely unique among those centered on Middle Eastern political and relgious issues, that it uses three young characters who are just beginning to explore life and sex to look at the issues that keep Lebanon so fractured to this day. It's through their relatively innocent eyes that much of the ugliness of war is portrayed in the film, and the scenes with them are far more affecting than those with Tarek's parents or any of the other supporting characters simply because Doueiri expertly captures the initial playfulness of their movement through the city and how naive their view of war is, only for them to slowly realize how serious the situation is (at one point Omar and Tarek join in a rally without knowing the implications of what they were calling for, only for the rally to be attacked by militants. The group's innocence is completely lost in a remarkable scene where the three attempt to get a Super 8 film developed only to come across a group of fervent Islamist militants, who capture them and are literally seconds away from discovering the cross May wears around her neck, the equivalent of a death sentence at the time, before Omar talks them into releasing the three. Doueiri claims this incident actually occurred. Doueiri's style is loose and liberated, obviously influenced by the French New Wave and featuring excellent use of hand-held camera. Anyone expecting a concise, tight narrative will be disappointed, as "West Beyrouth" (the title is a reflection of how frequently and interchangeably French and English are used in Lebanon in place of Arabic) is a loosely-knit, episodic sort of film which suits the nature of its story very well. What is really refreshing about this film is that it has absolutely no political agenda to push, it is purely about the characters and about how normal citizens are affected by this sort of guerrilla warfare. The film is remarkably human in its approach and execution, never attempting to be a tear-jerker and always maintaining a sense of humor (not one always well-captured by the English subtitles, which are otherwise serviceable), which only makes the drama seem more real when it does occur, not that much of this film is fiction. An outstanding debut from a gifted director. 9/10

Sinem Kalkavan "West Beirut".. Thanks to my Lebanese friends that I met in the U.S.A (both Christians and Muslims as they identify themselves before indicating their national identities), I had a pretty good information about civil war, religious&ethnic conflicts, Lebanon's political&economic relations with other countries.. For the ones who don't have knowledge about civil war, will be lost in this movie. Because in the movie, history of Lebanon or Beirut at least, is not narrated.. Relations between different religious and ethnic groups, and relations of Lebanon with other countries are not informed.. So who supports whom, who fights against whom and why..not informative.. Well, I saw images of bombings, how a beautiful city is being destroyed, how much Lebanese people are suffering, going thru trauma etc.. How citizens of Lebanon are facing that meaningless west\east division.. As we see, Tarek, Omar and May show how different sects can get along with each other as long as they are not fanatics (fanaticism kills the human soul)!!, this is not only in the movie, but in the real life too.. For example, in the beginning of the movie, when Tarek is having a conservation with that bread-maker, that old man tells Tarek that, if someone asks your religion, tell him I am LEBANESE! and send him to me.. This is the main message of the movie. Well, for a nation to be united, national identity should come first, then may come religious identity. That should to be kept in all Lebanese people's minds, and never to be forgotten! "West Beirut" brings individual lives in war time on the scene reflecting the mistakes that human beings do all the time.. we all do not get lessons and repeat the history, but we have to change this, should take a new direction.. Hope to watch more movies showing how dirty and interest-oriented such wars are.. Smiling faces versus hopeless and fearful gazes.. A life in peace versus a future with pre-war tensions, war and post-war traumatic disorders .. Let us all pick one..

Cedrus I wouldn't know how a non-Lebanese would look at this film. But to me, it's a very personal movie because I've lived similar events, even if 10 years later. It's definitely one of my favourite movies. And I have to say that the 3 leads have done great jobs for first-timers. "Carmen Lebbos" as the mother was superb, but my favourite character will always be "Leila Karam as" "Emm walid"

David I've seen WEST BEIRUT several times at this point - it has become one of my fave recent world films, and made me curious to see what other Lebanese films I might've missed out on. *MINOR SPOILERS*An extremely accomplished debut from Lebanese-American filmmaker Ziad Douieri, WEST BEIRUT is loosely patterned after Francois Truffaut's 400 BLOWS, and blends a similar tale of growing up in troubled or uncertain settings, with a detailed examination of a nation collapsing into a civil war of extraordinary violence. The film does demand a little knowledge of history from the audience - actual events not depicted in the film are occasionally referred to in passing, which isn't really a weakness, though WEST BEIRUT (the title of the film refers to the partitioning of the city into Christian and Moslem enclaves) doesn't spoon-feed anything either. The slice-of-life, episodic nature of the film is perfectly suited to the material - the film follows a downward narrative trajectory from adventure and youthful mischief towards tragedy - with many moments reflective a splintering world around you, but many moments that you can immediately identify with.