Living 'Under the Bombs'

  This film, set and shot in the aftermath of the 2006 bombing of Beirut, doesn't have much in common with the usual sanitized Hollywood fare. But then the Lebanese, who have been bombed or invaded by Israel something like eight times in the past 30 years, haven't led a very glamorous life.

  The filmmaker is a Lebanese patriot, but to his great credit he avoids taking sides in this most volatile of all political struggles. He is simply concerned with showing the terrible human cost of a seemingly endless conflict.

  “Under the Bombs” will be shown Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Historic Yuma Theater, 254 S. Main St. The screening, part of The Sun Cinema Series, includes an independent short film and a hosted discussion. Language is Arabic with English subtitles. Run time of the feature is 98 minutes; admission is $3.

A common humanity

  Superficially, the movie does follow a Hollywood formula - that of the buddy road picture. As usual, two very dissimilar people, unlikely to appreciate each other, are thrown together on a quest and have to make the most of it.

  Zeina, who has emigrated to Dubai, has returned to Lebanon after the 33-day bombing to look for her son, whom she had left with relatives. None of the cabbies at the Turkish border will take her to Beirut - too dangerous.

  Except Toni. He has a reckless streak, and he knows the south well. Besides, Zeina is a striking apparition in her chic blue dress, and she looks like she can afford his wartime rates.

  Besides the difference in social status, Zeina is a Shiite while Toni is a Christian. But quickly they identify their fundamental common humanity: both of them have lost what they loved most.

  Zeina's ex-husband is now a Hong Kong business executive who can't be bothered to come support her in this time of need. And her sister has been killed in the recent bombing.

  Toni's brother, who took sides against the militant organization Hezbollah in one of the previous conflicts, is now in exile in Israel. The two brothers had planned to emigrate to Germany and open a Mediterranean restaurant.

  Now these two unlikely friends must persevere on the trail of the little boy, who has been rescued from the bombs but always stays one step ahead of them. What started out as a one-way trip to Beirut turns into an odyssey that takes us to all parts of the country in Toni's 1975 Mercedes - through the wreckage of Lebanon's urban infrastructure but also through breathtaking scenery of coastline, mountains and fields.

A little too real

  Last year at the Sundance Film Festival “Under the Bombs” won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Drama category. And this year it's Lebanon's official submission to the Foreign Language category at the Academy Awards.

  Despite the loose Hollywood road-picture format, the film has much more in common with the Italian neo-realism of the ’40s and ’50s. It's hard to avoid thinking of Roberto Rossellini's “Open City,” which he shot during the actual liberation of Rome by Allied troops.

  “Under the Bombs” has a simple story, probably put together on very short notice and adapted to the conditions of filming in this time of conflict. Often the characters pass a blown-up overpass or stand among the ruins of a formerly thriving neighborhood.

  Clearly some of the scenes are based on events that the crew simply came upon and spontaneously worked into the drama - the uncovering of victims from the rubble, the arrival of U.N. troops, and so on. Some of the footage of the bombing is straightforward documentary.

  Perhaps most remarkably, all of the characters except the two leads are actual people that the filmmaker found along the way who simply play themselves - policemen, cabbies, hotel clerks, nuns, foreign journalists, and innocent victims who had their livelihoods destroyed by the bombing.

  This tragic conflict is half a world away, but it's come to a theater near you.