Case no.23 on the list of the high court of Lebanon: Tony Hanna, a Lebanese Christian, asks for an appeal after the local court finds Yasser Salameh, a Palestinian refugee, not guilty. The three judges, woman and two men, listen to the arguments of defense and persecution.
I will not summarize the plot but I will talk about its arguments, possible messages and my personal opinion.
Failure of the Law?
The high court does not find Yasser Salameh guilty. The public is in flames between Palestinian and Lebanese Christian strife. Yet, the reconciliation between the subjects; Tony Hanna and Yasser Salameh, is a humane one that does not take part in
Re-opening wounds
The film has received a multitude of responses, both critical and supportive, but one thing is certain. We need to talk about this. The wound is there. The Lebanese Civil war, the tension between the Christians and the Palestinians is still there, till this very day.
Tony Hanna is not a bad person, nor is Yasser Salameh but the situation is complicated. Escaping the attack on his home village of Damoun, Hanna finds himself panting for life and suffering from a life-long trauma that makes every Palestinian complicit in his own misery and traumatic memories.
Salameh is living the trauma. displaced, expatriated, his most basic rights are taken away from him, living in a refugee camp where the life conditions are dire. He insults and punches Hanna as soon as his honor is insulted, for honor is the last thing he has.
Tony and Yasser have more things in common than it seems. True, each one of them belongs to different religious group, different national people, yet both of them prefer quality over quantity. Both say in different scenes that the German quality, even though it costs more, is preferable over the cheap Chinese products. Both men love their family and are dedicated to their work.
One of the last scene, when Tony helps Yaser ignite the engine is a gesture to something universal. A human gesture that is far from cameras and political fervor. It is a kind gesture that Tony would have given to every person, or the other way around. This connection, although fragile and still in its nascent stage, provides hope for reconciliation. A reconciliation that comes to manifest itself in a smile between the two subjects in the last scene.
“It’s just a word”
I went to see the film with international friends. One of their comments struck me. They said “it is just a word, why cannot he apologize?” Yet, it is more than a word. It is honor, respect and dignity. Our abundant heritage of chivalry marks dignity and honor as the pillars of an identity. These things matter. These words, abstract, have the power to contain wounds, weapons, resistance and hope.
Generation Gap
The persecution lawyer Wajdi Wehbe is the father of the defense lawyer Nadine Wehbe. The dynamics of the family comes into play, to show that maybe this time our generation can fix things. When Nadine wins the case she looks at her dad, who all the time thought that he will win since he has a vast experience in this field, and more experience in life in general, one has hope in what our generation can bring forth.
AICHA BINT YUSIF 