Critic Reviews

For a movie about government incompetence married to government malfeasance, Costa Brava, Lebanon is surprisingly funny.

Costa Brava, Lebanon may be a fantasy memory of Lebanon’s past, but it’s alive and well in the hearts of its people.

Within the back and forth of family squabbles and warm moments, there are also sprinkles of magic realist beauty.

Costa Brava, Lebanon is a terrific feature debut from Mounia Akl which works both as a compelling domestic drama and an elegant political allegory.

Mounia Akl’s debut feature film Costa Brava, Lebanon is valiant filmmaking. Using the beauty of cinema to show the destruction of man’s cruelty to the environment is not just effective — it’s heartbreaking.

Akl and Clara Roqet’s script provides depth to these characters and immerses us in each of their perspectives and relationships — which shift along lines of blood and love.

Akl provides the scenario a keen insight that only someone going through the same push and pull as the characters could.

A mix of overt shouting matches and subtler moments illustrate this war of wills, ideologies and parenting styles. And the odd hallucinatory reverie reminds the characters, and the viewer, that try as we might, there’s no wishing a big problem away when it comes bulldozing and dynamiting at your door.

The film’s images entangle us with the characters, which makes its indeterminate ending a little more disappointing than it might have been. But this post-cataclysm habitat is worth paying a visit anyway.

While the narrative features magical realism, it lacks levity, which will probably make it less appealing to a select few. Nonetheless, this is something uniquely special and a perfect, alluring example of all that is wrong with the world we’re living in.