‘The Insult’ Turns Courtroom Drama Into a Riveting Tale of History and Immigration

Alci Rengifo

The year’s first great film about the current, divisive issues of immigration, nationalism and class is “The Insult.” Set in contemporary Lebanon, it is most definitely about the ongoing sectarian tensions in that country and the lingering shadow of its civil war. But the impact transcends its settings because while the politics are shaped by a specific region and its history, the general themes are dominating headlines everywhere. Director Ziad Doueiri brilliantly finds a way to mix history, politics and social conflict within the context of a courtroom drama. The movie is riveting and a reminder of how this kind of film can be about so much more than just legal theatrics.

Adel Karama plays Tony Hanna, a hot-headed Beirut mechanic who is a die-hard member of the country’s Christian Party, which is headed by partisans of the late Bachir Gemayel, a right-wing Christian icon from the country’s civil war years in the 1980s, who openly preached against the presence of Palestinian refugees. Gemayal speeches blare on the TV while Hanna works. One day while construction is taking place around his neighborhood, a Palestinian foreman named Yasser (Kamel El Basha) tries to get Kamal to turn off an illegal drain pipe. The situation turns into a confrontation in which Kamal loses his temper and Yasser spouts a verbal insult. Kamal demands an apology, but when Yasser’s boss tries to arrange it, Kamal spews an even more vicious, xenophobic attack that provokes Yasser into punching him. The case goes to court and becomes a media event fueling sectarian tensions in the country.

“The Insult” has no need for overdone action scenes or wild twists, it maintains a level of high tension through a tight screenplay by Doueiri and Joelle Touma where hardened wills harboring deep prejudices clash. I was reminded of the great Israeli film “Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem,” which also used a courtroom setting to explore wounded personalities and wider social issues. This is another example of the kind of strong filmmaking coming out of the Middle East. Countries like Israel, Iran and Turkey are producing filmmakers who take classic genres and use them to tell engaging stories which also reflect on recent history. Having lived through recent wars and upheavals, these filmmakers want to tell stories which aim to make sense of the lingering effects and divisions. Yasser and Hanna’s dispute is about more than just harsh words, it embodies Lebanon’s grappling with the ongoing Palestinian issue, the consequences of the civil war and 1982 Israeli invasion, and festering resentment over who sided with whom during the war’s most brutal years. As the story progresses we learn a little more about each character and what shaped them and in the process learn about their country.

Unlike an American legal thriller, “The Insult” doesn’t resort to gimmicks, it’s about real people challenged by extreme personal and moral dilemmas. But Doueiri has made a movie fit for these times anywhere in the world. The conflict of the story speaks to the current debate over migration, assimilation and what defines a national identity. The Gemayel speeches Hanna listens to on the TV sound eerily like what modern-day nationalists or Alt-Right types say about undocumented immigrants or any other group perceived as the other. But the writing is very sharp and Hanna and Yasser are not just mere representations, they are wonderfully complex. Hanna’s rage comes from somewhere rooted in past experiences. Through his character Doueiri makes a point of how prejudice doesn’t just happen, it is shaped by various experiences and historical forces. The vicious insult Hanna spits at Yasser could be morphed into a major offense in any country, just replace the names and words used with something local.

The cast delivers with scorching force. Adel Karama is a real discovery here. Having only appeared in a few Middle Eastern movies, in this one he’s violent pride and dynamite temper. But he harbors a unique vulnerability that humanizes the character in a great way. Kamel El Basha also does something special here, playing Yasser as a quieter, more cautious man who will eventually explode if pushed to the limit. Both characters are linked in a subtle way through their personalities. We are always more similar to our adversaries than we would like to admit. Equally matched to these actors is Diamand Bou Abboud as Yasser’s lawyer Nadine and Camille Salameh as Wajdi, the lawyer hired to represent Hanna who has his own, controversial history linked to the civil war. Abboud and Salameh are so good because the script doesn’t give them recycled lawyer roles. By the end of the movie they too have faced their own, personal histories and links to their country’s inner-conflict. Rita Hayek is memorable as Hanna’s wife, who tries to be a voice of reason and becomes an angry voice of conscience as her husband’s stubbornness keeps making the situation worse.

When the film goes into the courtroom it generates palpable tension. The way the two lawyers attempt to outmaneuver themselves with tactics revolving around arguments focusing on motive and personality traits is gripping. Doueiri uses the classic technique of using these scenes to make big revelations, but the twists he includes here add more necessary layers to the story. As the case gets bigger nationally the courtroom becomes a battleground between factions and even more prejudices are shouted around and revealed. Instead of focusing on just who should win, Doueiri turns the courthouse itself into a microcosm of a country’s own battles.

The courtroom thriller has struggled to return to the sort of peak it experienced in the 1990s, maybe because few times it went beyond John Grisham-style melodrama. “The Insult” revives the genre with intelligence and terrific craft. It’s refreshing to watch a movie where you’re not carried along by formula, but by a story that feels true in every act. It’s also a lesson in how we’re globally linked by the arguments dominating the kitchen table.

“The Insult” opens Jan. 12 in select theaters