Film Review: The Insult. Director: Ziad Doueiri.

 

Human beings have been distinguished from animals on the basis of many criteria, the primary one being rationality. Human beings are considered to be better than animals on the basis of this very criterion. Hence, it can be safely said that human beings are rational, but the main question is: how often do they choose to be so? Why is that when the Earth is home to a large amount of human population, only a modicum manage to gain rationality, reason and persistence whereas the rest revel in their irrational rationality? It is because man rationalizes.  'The Insult' is  a Courtroom Drama that portrays a personal dispute taking a bitter political turn. 

Tony Hanna, an intelligent mechanic and garage owner who lives with his wife in Beirut, is a hard worker who has always had to prove his worth as he is a Lebanese Christian, a part of the minority. He picks a bone with Yasser Salameh, an intelligent Palestinian refuge living in Lebanon, who is another part of the minority in the country and has his own trials and tribulations, and because of his status as a minority is only able to procure the work of a dogsbody. The former drags the latter to Court, and as the dispute progresses, each comes to know the unfamiliar side of the other. 

'The Insult' is an eye-opener in many ways. As Tony and Yasser go on with their dispute, for a reason that may appear silly on the surface, it focuses on the past, the present and the hope for a better future. The film seeks to send a message that there is still time, and there is still hope and most importantly, that redemption is possible. The other very important thing the film portrays is the politics and how indoctrinated people can be. A rational person is malleable, he can change his ideas on the basis of new information he receives. That is part of maturity and evolution. However, an indoctrinated person will always seek to craft their own non-existent reality or accept a reality that suits their own narrative. 

The people who can benefit from indoctrinated and misguided individuals are lawyers. In the course of their dispute, Tony and Yasser find that their lawyers were not willing to leave any stone unturned in emerging victorious, which again leads to an important question: is emerging victorious tantamount to justice?

The direction is quick and edgy. The audience is enthused as to what would happen next, and in that the film is extremely engaging. The leads Adel Karam (Tony Hanna) and Kamel El Basha (Yasser Salameh) have done a magnificent job. A noteworthy mention needs to be made of Camille Salameh (Wajdi Wehbe, Tony Hanna's lawyer). The script of the film is stellar, and replete with horrid realities and bon mots. The film is also relatable in the sense that it would arouse the empathy of the audience towards both the parties. 

'The Insult' gives the audience many a food for thought, but the most striking one would be a need for sensitivity and sensibility. To be sensitive enough to understand that the humankind has been tainted with suffering, more often than not to the convenience of crony capitalists and tyrants and sensible enough to know that everyone is fighting a battle we know nothing about. As the film portrays a Palestinian refuge as a lead, it would be out of place not to mention Noam Chomsky, a writer and activist who opines that the horrors perpetrated on Palestine are worse than what were perpetrated on the Jews by the Nazis. 

Overall, 'The Insult' is an intellectual's delight and must be watched for its simple portrayal and profound meaning. It also makes the audience think that if they desire to drag someone to Court, they should think again: they might be more alike with that person than they think.

MY TAKE: 9/10. 

Watch trailer here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l3z84kehg0

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Author: Ms. Radhika Sunil Vaidya. 

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