The special effects in this film are something else. Destroyed roads, bombed out bridges, smoking remnants of houses and grieving widows are all captured with striking realism. Except there are no big budget pyrotechnics here, it’s real footage of Lebanon.
Director Philippe Aractingi decided to start filming a handful of days after the outbreak of the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese war. With only a couple of professional actors, he mustered the rest of his cast from soldiers, journalists and officials all playing themselves.
The film centres on Zeina (Nada Abou Farhat), a modern Arab woman living in Dubai. She returns to Beirut to track down her son who moved back to Lebanon to live with her sister in order to avoid the fallout from a messy divorce. Zeina hasn’t been able to get through to her family since the bombing started. Tony (Georges Khabbaz), a taxi driver, agrees to take her to the south for a large fee. So begins a wild goose chase that oscillates between euphoria and despair as the pair move from place to place on snippets of information and a thread of hope.
Under the Bombs is an-in-your face look at the human cost behind the ‘collateral damage’ of war. It broods with subtle statements; little comments from the characters – “I don’t care about religion. My son is lost.” – echo with a message that can be read on numerous levels. Zeina is Muslim and Tony Christian, brought together by exceptional circumstances. A critique of Lebanon’s divided communities or the ongoing religious intolerance in the Middle East – it doesn’t matter: both analogies are as potent.
Held together by assured performances from Khabbaz and Farhat, the chopping and changing of their relationship makes intriguing viewing. This is a film that doesn’t set out to have a political agenda but can’t escape it. As the camera scrolls past a Hizbullah sign (‘You destroyed the bridges, we have mended their hearts!’), it’s easy to see just how extremists are able to exploit Middle Eastern populations. Under the Bombs may not blow you away, but it certainly leaves a crater-sized dent in your conscience.
