By Lea Daouk | Staff Writer

You wake up, you brush your teeth, wear your clothes and get on with your day. It’s the same old boring routine but today feels different. People around you are anxious and uneasy. They seem fearful, but you don’t understand why. Until it happens. War happens. It is only then will you wish that your boring little routine can come back. I never truly understood the meaning of war until we lived it. The stories our parents told us felt like a movie. They always seemed to be so dramatic and exaggerated. Ziad Doueire’s tale was one of such stories. West Beirut was created to show the true nature of war in Lebanon, not by any political party, but by a couple of teenagers experiencing it together. 

The story follows the civil war of 1975. The war that divided Lebanese people into different regions based on their religious group. Tarek Noueire and his best friend Omar are thrilled with the fact that they don’t need to go to school anymore and could instead roam around west Beirut to film. Despite the religious divisions, a young Christian girl called May meets Tarek and Omar. They all become friends instantly.

I have always found this part interesting because of its deeper meaning; the innocence of these kids reflects their ability to embrace each other despite their different religious backgrounds. The world was divided, but these teenagers weren’t and accepted each other, opposite to the war.

The movie goes on to show us the struggle between Tarek’s parents Hala and Riad. Hala can’t live in these conditions and demands to leave, while Riad refuses to leave because of his patriotism. He believes that no other country would accept them, and he wouldn’t accept any other country. Their argument highlights the inner struggle within a person who knows that they must seek shelter and safety, but are reluctant to leave their motherland. It is truly hard to leave your home and memories, but it is a necessary decision.

The war keeps getting worse and worse. At that point, the kids start to understand the reality they are living in, and it struck them how much their lives had changed. In a conversation between Tarek and Omar, Tarek tells him how they barely have any food to eat and how the war has affected their financial situation. They wish they could go back to their lives and to school. They realize that all the adventures they have had cannot happen anymore and they are stuck. At the end of the movie, we see that Tarek and Riad are mourning the mother, Hala, a scene which highlights the true tragedy that comes with war. 

I watched this movie before the recent war in Lebanon and after it, and I have come to understand their feelings better. These teenagers felt happy to have the freedom during war, not understanding that said war actually traps you. It shows you what you truly love and value and then takes it away from you. These teenagers were stripped of their youth and innocence and forced to live a life of tragedy and fear. It showed them that war divides us, whether in Lebanon itself or all around the world. It also highlights the character traits and personalities of Lebanese people. Being used to these war dynamics, these kids assumed that it is normal. 

Lebanese people have become immune to the horrors of war. I have truly never seen a country with people as resilient and patient as those of Arab countries that must face these wars. West Beirut’s war barely differs from the recent war in Lebanon. In West Beirut, you can see how people’s stores are open, and people are battling through them. The same happened now. People continued to live their lives as they were because they needed to; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to feed their families. You can also see how Lebanese people love to incorporate humour to ease their pains. This can be seen in all of us; we often joke to find relief.

To better understand this movie, I decided to interview one of their main actors, Carmen Lebbos, who plays the role of Hala, Tarek’s Mother. Through my interview with her, Carmen agrees with Hala’s urge to leave the country. She believes that people place their hope not in their country, but in their sect. She doesn’t want to live in a country where basic needs aren’t met and safety isn’t present. She explains the need for a movie like West Beirut to show the truth to the future generations on the tragedy that occurred in their country. She believes that the truth has always been covered and hidden, and a movie like this spreads awareness to all kinds of people. She explains that working on West Beirut didn’t affect her mental health – because living through the war itself had already done so. She says that all the wars that happened over the years still live with her, despite the time that has passed. This interview with Carmen has shown me the effect of war on people. Carmen, who loves her country, would rather live anywhere else. She wants the country to get better and to recover from its catastrophes but knows how hard this process is. I found this interview truly fascinating because of how Carmen called for greater awareness. 

Whether physical or mental, the effects of war are numerous. Although the movie does a very good job of representing the war from the perspective of those affected, I believe that everyone who has experienced it has their own story that’s worth listening to, and that no movie could truly represent every single one of them, no matter how well done it may be. Their pain is real, and their fear is real. A story like West Beirut opens the opportunity for people to tell their stories and express their own feelings. For what are we but a bundle of stories and feelings?