Melodrama Habibi (2008) Reviews

A one hit wonder and a woman who lives for his lone hit song meet three decades after he dropped off the hit parade in this comedy drama. Bruno Caprice (Patrick Chesnais) had a brief fling with fame in the Seventies; he was a singer whose lone hit single "Quand tu t'en vas" hit the top of the charts across Europe. But after a couple years, Bruno's career dried up and today he's all but forgotten, working as a clerk at a hotel in Paris. But Bruno has at least one loyal fan left -- Randa Hafouche (Julia Kassar), who grew up in Lebanon while the nation was being torn apart by civil war. Bruno played a concert in Beirut which is one of the few joyous memories of Randa's youth, and now that she's married to a man who has made a fortune in the coffee trade, Randa still can't get "Quand tu t'en vas" out of her head. When her husband plans a lavish party for Randa's birthday, she makes a special request -- invite Bruno to perform at the affair. Bruno, in need of an ego boost, is more than happy to accept the gig, but while Randa is clearly drawn to the one-time star and shares with him the story of the concert that changed her life, he can't recall ever playing a show in Lebanon. Une chanson dans la tete (aka Melodrama Habibi) is the first feature film from writer and director Hany Tamba. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi