Rabih Mroue Movies
- 2009
A group of women out to visit their loved ones must fend for themselves under difficult circumstances in this drama from writer and director Dima El-Horr. A bus full of female passengers is riding through the deserts of Lebanon, en route to a state prison where their sons, husbands and sweethearts are serving time. While the trip is difficult for some, many of the women are upbeat about the prospect of seeing their men, but everyone's outlook is changed when bullets tear through the vehicle, killing the driver and leaving the bus stranded in the middle of nowhere. With few other options, the women climb off the bus and set out to find a city, but they can reach no consensus among themselves about which way to go, so the women go off in a dozen different directions in search of the same ultimate goal. Chaque Jour Est Une Fete (aka Every Day Is A Holiday) was an official selection at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2008
The destruction wrought in Lebanon during the war of 2006 is seen through unexpected eyes in this fusion of drama and documentary from filmmakers Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige. The internationally famous French actress Catherine Deneuve (playing herself) is visiting Beirut and wants to see the aftermath of the 2006 conflict first hand. Deneuve's driver, a loyal fan and fellow actor named Rabih Mroue, is more than willing to help, and together they spend the day exploring the city, from the city center through the village of Bint El Jbeil (which Mroue calls home) to the Israeli border. While Deneuve is protected by a bodyguard, the guided tour presents more danger than she expects, with fighter jets buzzing overhead and land band dotting a few side streets, as Mroue makes sure she witnesses both the beauty of Lebanon and the wreckage battles with Israel have left behind. Je Veux Voir was screened as part of the Un Certain Regard series at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Deneuve, Rabih Mroue, (more)
- 2002
Lebanese filmmaker Ghassan Salhab follows up his debut Beirut Fantome with the psychological drama Terra Incognita, which follows the lives of several thirtysomething men and women dealing with the aftereffects of Lebanese civil war in Beiruit. Soraya (Carole Abboud) is a tour guide who pines for her lost love, Tarek (Rabih Mroueh), while her friend Leila (Abla Khoury) feels as though she's wasted her life. Other subjects include the lonely radio announcer Haidar (Carlos Chahine) and the recluse Nadim (Walid Sadek). Details of each person's daily life is intercut with news reports, the presence of soldiers, and flying Israeli jets. Terra Incognita premiered at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Abboud, Abla Khoury, (more)
- 2000
Two families on the run find a home but have a hard time keeping it in this comedy-drama. The Adaimis and the Nawfals, two families from the Lebanese countryside, make their way to Beirut as war begins tearing their village apart. The families find an abandoned mansion on the edge of town and move in, eventually making the old house into a home. But after 11 years, with the war over and the national economy on the upswing, the owners of the house finally decide to do something about their squatters. It seems that developers want to open a shopping mall in the area, and the pink house is soon to be demolished, but it quickly becomes obvious that the Adaimi and Nawfal families aren't about to give up their home without a fight. Autour de la Maison Rose was written and directed by the team of Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige; it was their first feature film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1999
An intelligent thriller of deception, loyalty and betrayal, Beyrouth Fantome tells of a conflict among old friends set against the backdrop of the Lebanese civil war. Ten years after Khalil (Aouni Kawas) was believed to have died in a skirmish in Beirut, several of his friends spot him at an airport, older and emotionally blank but still among the living. Enraged, the men confront Khalil and are determined to find out the truth about his disappearance and why he abandoned the struggle while they stayed in Beirut to fight. First-time director Ghassan Salhab intercuts video footage of his actors discussing the film into the narrative, giving a personal viewpoint of how the war in Lebanon affected its people. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aouni Kawas, Darina Al Joundi, (more)
