This is the type of movies they need to make more often! And I loved it!
If you admired "Amélie" (2001),this is a much more complex story without all the computer bell and whistles of "Amélie"'s visual effects. "Skies of Lebanon" incorporates lots of visual effects of different types, excellent music and surreal vibe.
Actually it was the surrealism which really got me to see this movie, after seeing the trailer. The trailer itself gives pretty good clue what the movie is about.
One important thing to mention: I am not familiar at all with the history of Lebanon, so I will not comment on this aspect. I was watching the movie purely as a story.
In short, this is a love story set mainly in Lebanon. Unlike "Amélie", there are more things set in motion around the main characters and I absolutely loved how everything was shown. However it is a thorn love story. The characters go trough a lot. From the thrills of falling in love to the perils of marriage and parenthood.
There is a very tiny bit of glimpse of Kusturica's "Underground", speaking of the love, life and difficulties during wartime, but it is a totally different thing.
"Skies of Lebanon" is an absolute form of art and will appeal seriously to any art lover worldwide.
90% - Critics
6.7Plot summary
In the 1950s, Alice leaves her Swiss homeland for Lebanon, a sunny and exuberant country where she enjoys the best years of her life. In the 1970s, civil war winds its way into Alice's paradise and she will do her best to protect herself from the inevitable, refusing to give in to despair.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
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Magnificently eccentric!
"In this country,that has its own stars,never have I seen such a beautiful one."
After finding Ballad of a White Cow (2020-also reviewed) to be stunning,I took a look at the line-up online line-up from the final day of the Edinburgh International Film Festival for another gem. Taken by the off-beat trailer, I decided to look up at the skies of Lebanon.
Note:Review contains some plot details.
View on the film:
Making short stop-motion animation shorts before reaching for the skies, co-writer (with Yacine Badday)/ director Chloe Mazlo unveils an exquisite feature film debut, with Mazlo & cinematographer Helene Louvart opening a sparkling, almost Musical atmosphere in 1950's Lebanon, with ultra-stylised warm, glossy pastel colours beaming in graceful tracking shots around Alice (played by a delightful Alba Rohrwacher.)
Expanding on her short film roots, Mazlo weaves surrealist stop-motion animation into Alice's life, with ambitious spilt-screen shots of Alice interacting with her stop-motion animated parents (!),crayon-coloured matte paintings drawing a kooky mood to Alice's bubbly romantic life, and a stark wall which comes face to face with the horrors of civil war.
Waving farewell to Switzerland as she heads to Lebanon, the screenplay by Badday and Mazlo plays with a pitch-perfect playful tone Alice's sincere love for the country and those who welcome her into their lives with open arms, which Alice struggles to retain a grip on, as the darkness of the civil war begins to cover the skies of Lebanon.