Dirty Difficult Dangerous tells a clandestine love story in Beirut. French Lebanese director and journalist Wissam Charaf’s latest outing at the Venice Film Festival “Dirty Difficult Dangerous” falls somewhere between comedy and tragedy.
The director weaves an intimate but hopeless romance between an Ethiopian migrant housekeeper, Mehdia (played with wonderful conviction by Clara Couturet), and a Syrian scrap metal collector, Ahmed (an interesting Ziad Jallad).
They indeed lead a dirty and difficult life in Beirut wracked by bloody strife. It is perhaps this setting that gives a novel twist to their story with both discovering solace and beauty in each other amid the violence.
Ahmed’s life has been hellish — hit by shrapnel from a bomb in Syria, he flees to Beirut where things are no better. Mehdia lives in the midst of people who are not too pleasant. The mistress of the house where Mehdia works, Madame Leila who is essayed by the divine Darina Al-Joundi, is not exactly evil, but she is suffocatingly strict.
It is an environment that makes the maid’s life torturous. Leila’s husband is a retired army colonel suffering from dementia while the couple’s son, Fadi (an impressive cameo by the director himself), employs another domestic worker, a sweet Bengali girl who does not speak a word of Arabic.
It is a motley group indeed. While Mehdia’s existence is uneasy because of the restrictive household, Ahmed has his own demons to grapple with. His life is slowly turning into a lifeless prison of iron and steel.
Martin Rit’s photography work elevates the script to an ethereal high. Written imaginatively by Charaf along with Mariette Desert and Hala Dabaji, the story is one of moving humanism, of how two individuals who live in a particularly difficult scenario yet create their own little paradise that gives them joy and hope.
A wondrous score with the right blend of traditional Levantine music and Ethiopian chanting gives the movie the right kind of mood to let it fly above the squalor of its setting and transform into an unforgettable love story.
Your style is very unique compared to other people I’ve read stuff from.
Thank you for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this page.
Do you have a spam issue on this blog; I also am a blogger, and
I was wondering your situation; many of us have created some nice
procedures and we are looking to trade solutions with other
folks, why not shoot me an e-mail if interested.
First of all I would like to say superb blog! I had a quick question that I’d like
to ask if you do not mind. I was curious to know how you
center yourself and clear your thoughts prior to writing.
I have had a difficult time clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out there.
I truly do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally lost just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or tips?
Thanks!
Thanks designed for sharing such a good thought, paragraph
is good, thats why i have read it entirely
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you
knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates.
I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time
and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this.
Please let me know if you run into anything.
I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.
Excellent pieces. Keep posting such kind of information on your site.
Im really impressed by it.[X-N-E-W-L-I-N-S-P-I-N-X]Hi
there, You’ve done an incredible job. I will definitely digg it
and individually suggest to my friends. I am confident they’ll be benefited
from this site.
I’ve been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this website.
Thank you, I will try and check back more frequently.
How frequently you update your website?
Hi there everyone, it’s my first pay a visit at this site,
and post is actually fruitful in favor of me, keep up posting these types of
content.
What’s up colleagues, its great article about teachingand completely explained,
keep it up all the time.
Awesome! Its genuinely amazing piece of writing, I have got much clear idea concerning from this article.