SummaryIn today’s Beirut, a civilian dispute blown out of proportion finds Tony (Adel Karam), a Lebanese Christian, and Yasser (Kamel El Basha), a Palestinian refugee, facing off in court. As the media circus surrounding the case threatens a social explosion in divided Lebanon, Tony and Yasser reconsider their values and beliefs as revelations of trauma... Read More
Directed By:Ziad Doueiri
Written By:Ziad Doueiri, Joelle Touma
The Insult
Metascore
Generally Favorable
72
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.1
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
76% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
24% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Jan 12, 2018
100
While the issues it engages are timely and important, the film’s claim to fame really comes from its terrific accomplishments on every front, from writing and directing to acting and cinematography.
Jan 25, 2018
88
Still, the excitement is palpable, and Karam and El Basha (he justifiably won the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival) give the kind of performances that keep you riveted. Even at its most blunt and obvious, this is a movie that stumps for empathy. Who can argue with that?
User score
Universal Acclaim
84% Positive
27 Ratings
27 Ratings
16% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Feb 11, 2018
10
Sub-titled movies usually don’t interest us, but we wanted to see this movie because we felt it would explain the situation in Lebanon between the Lebanese and the refugees, and it did. It’s a very thought-provoking film with a strong message. The film shows how, even long after war, people are still very wounded and react in ways that if they don’t change, recovery is impossible. This movie also reminded me how situations involving tribal disputes, racial discrimination, or people not allowing different people be, regresses any progress in life for everyone. Now I have to watch the other 4 Oscar nominated foreign films to see if this movie was as good as I thought it was. On a side note, the actress Camille Salameh stood out for us because she seems like a combination of Lebanese Jennifer Lawrence/Helen Mirren. She played the young lawyer well, but then, the entire cast was excellent.
Jul 3, 2020
9
The Middle East conflict narrated in a fresh way, without showing sympathy to anything or anyone. The how or because a trivial discussion in which no one gives in, lets out social wounds that have never healed. What makes it interesting is that, to become witnesses of the problem without taking sides with anyone. Rush.
80
A highly political movie that's also a personal story of two men going head-to-head while the women around them are left to pick up the pieces, this gorgeously shot and classily acted feature might be a reel too long but is nonetheless a fascinating piece of work.
Jan 24, 2018
75
The writing is subtle and refreshingly without sentimentality — sentimentality being a common flaw in Middle Eastern cinema.
Jan 31, 2018
67
The Insult shows how personal resolutions may be the only recourse and pathway to personal peace.
Jan 12, 2018
60
At a certain point, we are no longer watching a naturally escalating conflict so much as a rigged allegory of masculine aggression, contrived not only for our entertainment but also for our edification.
Jan 30, 2018
58
Regardless of its high aims, most of what The Insult offers—unlikely last-minute reveals, argumentative lawyers, stone-faced judges—is the stuff of a diverting, junky courtroom drama.
Dec 4, 2018
9
The best movie in any language, sans any country, to be hit in 2017 with a crystal clear massage abort humanity, tolerance between different ethnic groups or religion. Brilliant portraits of the entire cast, suffice to say this will resonate a long to come.
Jun 6, 2021
8
Es una excelente película que muestra los problemas políticos y culturales de Líbano; la trama es muy buena y las actuaciones son decentes; es un buen drama judicial.
¡TOTALMENTE RECOMENDABLE!
Nov 26, 2020
8
The Lebanese powder keg: a match and pschitt, everything is set ablaze. All the history of the Cedar remarkably told around this "incident".
Sep 10, 2018
8
La película comienza aclarando que todo lo que vamos a ver no refleja la postura de ningún partido político, pero claro, este termina siendo un aviso inútil que se termina contradiciendo con escenas que reflejan de una magnifica manera la realidad que los inmigrantes viven. Nos presentan a Toni, un libanés cristiano, muy apegado a su ideología, que tiene una esposa gestante con un fuerte odio que se reanima cuando conoce a Yasser, un refugiado palestino que trabaja para una constructora. La película maneja un ritmo tenso y tiene interpretaciones muy bien logradas. Es una historia que insta a la reconciliación cultural, nacional, religiosa. Honesta. Con una intención clara que no deja insatisfecho ni indiferente a nadie y muestra, por medio de la historia la situación que se vive en el medio oriente.
Feb 20, 2018
8
Though sometimes a little shrill in its tone and dogma and a little formulaic in its narrative format, the film nevertheless serves as an effective metaphor for what's wrong with humanity these days. Excessive polarization, a desire for vengeance rather than justice and an unwillingness to compromise all take front-row seats in this Lebanese drama about finding balance and reconciliation when those qualities are in virtually nonexistent supply. A knowledge of Middle Eastern politics certainly helps aid the viewing experience, but, even with not knowing all the details, the essence of the conflicts -- and the message of the film -- nonetheless come through loud and clear (sometimes even a little more so than one might want).
Production Company:
- Ezekiel Films
- Tessalit Productions
- Rouge International
- Cohen Media Group
- Scope Pictures
- Douri Films
- Canal+
- Ciné+
- L'Aide aux cinémas du monde
- Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC)
- Ministère des Affaires étrangères et du Développement International
- Institut français
- Alfa
- MTC Touch
- Ginger Beirut Production
Release Date:Jan 12, 2018
Duration:1 h 52 m
Rating:R
Tagline:Words Change Everything.
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
The Lebanese Movie Awards
• 6 Wins & 12 Nominations
Valladolid International Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 4 Nominations
