Perfectly adorable

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Prior to seeing this film, I was honestly not familiar with the particular challenges occurring in Lebanon. While this movie attempts to present both sides of the conflicts, it is not intended as a documentary and I am left with a sense that I am still unaware of the cultural, religious, and political strife's encroaching on this region. Nonetheless, the overarching themes of intolerance, entitlement, bigotry and xenophobia seem all too familiar to my US-centric perspective. Not fully understanding the nuances of the polarized factions in this particular drama actually makes it easier to identify the human elements that drive conflicts around the world. You can replace "Lebanese Christian vs. refugee" with "Israeli vs Palestinian," "native Zimbabwe workers vs. white farm owners," "Indonesian residents vs. affluent Chinese immigrants," or even simply "Republicans vs. Democrats" and still tell the same exact story. While the details behind the conflicts can be dramatically different, the human emotions and drives that escalate responses and shut down communication and understanding seem universal. This film is definitely worth a look, but save it for a time when you're prepared for an introspective look at world events and the human conditions that instigate them.

I was expecting a lot more of a film that was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, and I'm surprised that as of this writing (about 20 reviews), only one IMDb review was negative. I'm sure a film like this in Lebanon is groundbreaking, but researching this film on IMDb, it looks like it didn't even win any awards in the Lebanese version of the Oscars, although nominated. I don't know exactly what is allowed in a Lebanese courtroom, but it seemed there was a lot of unrelated issues being litigated, which didn't seem very believable. The film was just too heavy-handed and melodramatic for me.The one positive thing I'll say about this movie is Rita Hayek, who has the possibility of being a real breakout star in international cinema if that's something she wants. She can act, and is gorgeous.

I am Lebanease,I Am only 15 years old so I don't understand so much in Politics and other things.When I Watched this Movie,I Was Amazed in Ziad Doueiri's Work.He's an amazing man,After this amazing movie full of amazing direction and an amaZing plot and very strong characters I Really knew the importance of the ground that I Belong to I don't have words to describe my feeling to this realistic movie,Finally I Can Say that we Are proud to have Such Movie in Our Country and such an amazing Director and strong Characters

"I wish Ariel Sharon wiped you all out" Tony (Adel Karam)Tony, a Lebanese Christian, shouts this insult at Yassar, a Palestinian refugee, that, together with the epithets Yassar had called to him, prompts a court proceeding in diverse Beirut, creating a national interest and hatred that would foment.The half million Palestinians in Beirut and the multiple sects of Christians are not going to be appeased by any court decision that doesn't support their cause. Consequently writer/director Ziad Doueiri and writer Joelle Touma, both responsible for the stunning The Attack (2012), craft a heavily figurative and entertaining courtroom drama that clearly and forcefully lays out the history and contemporary contempt of Lebanese and Palestinians. The proceedings also emphasize the humanity that underlies the conflict.The two principals are very different men: Tony is a garage mechanic and owner, a hothead with a big chip on his shoulder about Palestinian incursions (no mention here about the currently millions of Syrian refugees); Yassar is an engineer, seemingly even tempered, who heads a team of workers charged with fixing buildings that need to be up to code.Both men have reasons to hate each other in circumstances that require a careful treatment by the justices. With the two men, there is no nuance or subtlety. With the court, empathy and rationality are required. Throughout, the filmmakers allow us to enjoy the legal jousting while gaining sympathy for both sides of the ethnic animus.The dynamic Insult deserved every bit of its Oscar nomination for best foreign language film. While some might complain the treatment is simplistic and Tony too headstrong, it's still powerful cinematic drama and respectful of the differences that make wars."Insults are the arguments employed by those who are in the wrong." Jean-Jacques Rousseau