What Did I Mess (Khabsa)

By Shannon MacColl

The short:

A Lebanese couple, Nayla and Fares, break up because of a fear of the next steps in their relationship. Nayla is determined to get Fares back and creates an enormously complicated scheme to get him back.

The long:

Nayla is ready after four years of dating Fares to get married and have a child. Unfortunately, Fares is swimming in debt to loan sharks and can barely keep his own head above water. This mismatch causes Nayla to break up with Fares because as she notes “time is ticking” for her and her body. The problem is that neither Nayla nor Fares want to break up and so chaotic schemes develop. Nayla finds a handsome, rich man, Sylvio, whom she plans to marry to have a child with and use his money to get Fares out of debt. The catch is Fares is not aware of any of this until he is invited over for dinner one night to unknowingly meet Sylvio. Chaos ensues, with Nayla claiming to Sylvio that Fares is like her gay brother and invites their actual gay friend, Alex over to pretend to be his boyfriend. The antics and charades ensue, helped greatly by Nayla’s miscalculations of the water to arak ratio she has been serving throughout the night.

Everything culminates in Nayla confessing her love for Fares and Fares returning those feelings while Sylvio is drunk on the ground. Sylvio reveals that he is actually gay and was going to marry Nayla to fulfill his family’s wish for an heir and to hide his sexuality.

To watch or not to watch?

Watch it. It is a belly-laughing film that will keep a smile on your face. The cultural elements of drinking arak (which leads to an amusing miscommunication) and LGBTQ+ issues adds interesting insight into Lebanese culture for a Westerner. Plus it has a happy ending for everyone, what more could you ask for?