The Insult

By Benjamin Lutz

The short:

The film tells the story of two men: Tony George Hanna (Adel Karam), a Lebanese Christian mechanic, and Yasser Salameh (Kamel El Basha), a Palestinian foreman, who are embroiled in a court case that causes political upheaval in an already unstable country.

The long:

Tony Hanna is a Lebanese Christian and devoted member of the Christian Party, with a pregnant wife, Shirine. Not wanting workers near his property when Shirine is there, Tony discovers contractors modifying the gutter on his balcony. Tony smashes the gutter, to which the worker Yasser Abdallah Salameh calls Tony a "fucking prick". Tony recognizes Yasser as a Palestinian refugee by his accent; he watches anti-Palestinian propaganda and wishes for all Palestinians to leave the country. Although the balcony was in violation of building codes and the workers were fixing it, Tony demands an apology for the "fucking prick" remark from the company. The employers bring Yasser to Tony's garage to apologize in person; but when Tony states he wishes Israeli statesman Ariel Sharon had exterminated all Palestinians, Yasser punches him instead, breaking two ribs.

Tony launches a lawsuit against Yasser, representing himself. However, when neither Yasser nor Tony can bring themselves to repeat what Tony said to Yasser about Sharon, the judge dismisses the case for inconclusive evidence. Enraged, Tony shouts the judge is corrupt and biased, and is removed from the courtroom but vows to appeal. He later collapses, and Shirine helps pull him up, later giving birth. The child is placed on life support, allegedly due to contractions Shirine experienced when she pulled up her husband and emotional shock at Yasser's assault. The case goes to a retrial, with Yasser risking guilt of manslaughter if the child dies.

To watch or not to watch?

This is an incredibly intense and formative film. Highly recommend seeing the political and cultural tensions that are exemplified in this superb cast.