Mother, Lebanon, and Me 2011
Distributed by Women Make Movies, 462 Broadway, New York, NY 10013; 212-925-0606
Produced by Caravan Films
Directed by Olga Nakkas
DVD, color, 70 min., French and Arabic with English subtitles
Sr. High - General Adult
Middle East, Human Rights
Date Entered: 11/01/2011
Reviewed by Gerald Notaro, University Librarian, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, University of South Florida, St. PetersburgThis film is a sequel to filmmaker Olga Nakkas’ Lebanon: Bits and Pieces (1994). Though it stands on its own for those not familiar with her previous work, a familiarity with Middle East politics from the past 50 years greatly helps.
Lebanon has always been a crossroads, a contradiction. Nakkas documents the descent of her mother’s health at the same time her adopted country of Lebanon falls into a bitter civil war. Interspersed are scenes filmed 15 years ago, presumably for Lebanon: Bits and Pieces. This is a deeply personal film, only rarely bordering on sentimentality. The themes are as universal as they are specific. At times it is difficult to determine who is actually narrating scenes, but it matters little. Even the misspellings and grammatical errors of translation in the subtitles are endearing and add to such a personal vision. Like the Middle East itself, Mother, Lebanon, and Me is a film of extreme contrasts and duality. It explains much as to why there seems to be no middle ground there and why eventual lasting peace is still a long way off. Recommended, especially for those collections with interests in the Middle East.