lesharvest

(2013-04-22 21:37:15)

Wonderful movie

It just showed up on Netflix, and I took a chance! What a treat! Ilaughed and I cried! I think I also missed something , who let thegoats in the mosque? Who put the chicken blood in the urn? I wasentertained until the moment where they are going up the hill, I justdidn't get it. The ending just didn't do it for me and was a letdown!But I gave it a 8, 'cause I loved the rest. Of course I am of Lebaneseorigin though I was born in Canada, it was just so cool to hear thedialect, the humour, the sadness at moments. The historical &geographical setting was well chosen. I can't wait to show it to mymom!

khvv

(2013-04-22 08:00:43)

Excellent, a MUST WATCH

This movie discusses religious tolerance in a very nice way, mainly adrama with some hits of comedy and romance this movie is a must watchfor everyone,it shows the the struggle on both sides of religiousintolerance. A great movie with an international message. I wouldrecommend it for everyone to raise awareness about these issues andeducate the people. Mrs. Nadine Labaki really did a good job on this one.The actors might be amateur and not very famous, but the acting wasgood, which only makes the movie better and gives it a warmer 'homey'feeling making it very easy to relate to.

nicthegreek

(2013-03-19 19:15:53)

I see little gold statues.

This movie was fantastic. It takes of of the sadness and darknesssurrounding war, and death. And makes us realize that we have moreimportant things n life then to be fighting over religion etc. I metNadine at the Toronto International Film Festival, and could see thatshe is a serious actress, director. The result is very clear in thispicture. A beautiful, serious, heartfelt funny story. The world needsmore movies like this to bring us all close together. No wonder thismovie was the fan favorite at tiff. I know I gave it 5 out off 5, Iguess I wasn't alone. See this movie and I am sure that you will feethe same way. I am grateful to have picked it and to have seen it sosoon.

samer-issa

(2013-03-19 11:25:27)

Thumbs up

Excellent setup, excellent directing, excellent acting, Excellent movie..... a few flaws of course ..... but as a whole the movie is well doneand well targeted with an amazing message so eloquently conveyed thatso deeply touches the hearts.I Read some reviews by people getting offended from the somewhatengaged references to religion, well, they are the main target of themovie... when the time comes, a little openness is whats needed andwhat might drive us to be more attentive to the better angels of ournature (just what Nadine's circle of women strive so desperately totell us all through the movie)

niso-87

(2013-03-04 19:37:50)

Awful and Lame movie

The movie was nothing but a waste of time. I have always believed thatLebanese movie are not worth watching because we lack professionalactors and Budget but when i saw Nadine labs movie i was sure never todo it again. I swore after watching it i will never watch a Lebanesemovie again. I will start listing what was wrong with this movie. 1-Themovie didn't reflect the Lebanese reality not even 1%. 2- Lack ofactors. 3-so many stories going on not one is finished right. 4- somany things left out...(like Rabi and Amalle ) 5- how can they bring somany drugs and giving them to the guys,,,, the medications make youfeel relaxed but they won't make you forget that a boy was murdered. 6-the priest was so funny Mn Wayne la2tino??? 7- seeing the virgin marrygetting insulted so many time without even a point is not tolerated. 8-using curses won't make a movie a success but a failure... 9- DearNadine how come the village has money to hire Ukrains but not to buy acar. 10- and what is it with not having a car in the whole village....C'Mon we re not that poor my grandpa had a TV and a car before thecivil war. 11- It will never happen that women are saints and they wantto live in peace they are the reason of fights, . . . i can go on allday telling you what wrong with that movie ..... but I'm honest i wouldsay i have seen the effort you have put in this movie and i admire thehard work and admire Nadine Labaki as a Director that can deliver agood angel but next time just have a story ... in the end i can saythat movie was like maybe a step but it doesn't deserve the highratings, I'm proud it made a buzz but not proud of the content if i ama foreign watching i wouldn't step in Lebanon. next time i would liketo see a comedy movie CZ thats what we are good in it maybe romance butpl Nadine leave the religion outside....

neve2007

(2013-03-04 11:11:33)

simply beautiful , beautifully simple..

From the very first scene , you feel that is going to be a beautifulmovie. You can't pinpoint exactly the source of beauty , it's all thefactors combined. Scenery , actors, cinematography . there is a feelingof warmth and strange familiarity fills you up. The same pace of Muslimand Christian women marching to their common cemetery ( in which theirloved ones are buried after they were killed in a religious raisedconflict ) put you in front of a lovely Lebanese portrait in the firstpage of a story about a group Of villagers, who share everything but religion. The story of the witand wisdom of this village women who try to maintain the peace thepeace in so many desperate ways .The beauty , simplicity and classinessof the those women characters , makes you love them , think , laugh andcry with them. Watching the villagers peaceful moments and love andfriendship between the women , makes you wonder, how one day did theykill one another?! Amal, Fatma Yevon , sayda , aida , afaf,.. allhappily coexisting Christian and Muslim women , happily coexisting,sharing their lives , so close, they even tease one another of theirreligious differences .( which makes you wonder , why can't men handlematters in the same manner and that women should really rule theworld!).In the middle of that , we find Rabie , a young Muslim painter whohelps amal redecorating her café' and falling in love with her as well,amale feels the same , but each one is stifled by being from adifferent faith and fear of igniting the war in the village again.One night , while they were all watching TV in the wilderness, therewere news about Muslim and Christian armed conflicts in Lebanon , whichfaced by a subconscious or may be collective conscious attempt by thewomen to distract everyone from it, by creating little quarrels ! asthey just before decided that what we don't know doesn't hurt us andburned the newspapers coming from town!The tension between the two teams ( Muslims and Christians) piles upand erupts by the accident of breaking the cross in the very old churchand the goats entering the always opened mosque . leaving each one toblame the other. The women decide there is something must be done byany means whatsoever to prevent another potential war in the village ,killing more of their sons, brothers and husbands.They hire Ukrainian dancers who happens to be in town in order to keepthem distracted! Things seem to run as planned , till a fight happens between the twoteams again and young nessim is murdered afterwards outside the village., leaving his mother with two murdered sons to mourn. And here comesone of the most beautiful heart felt scenes I've ever seen on screen ,when nessim's mother cries and blame virgin marry for her son's death.This scene changes the momentum and rocks you , forcing you to thinkabout all the stupidity of the human being and his intolerance . whilerespecting his mother for hiding the news to save the village fromanother wave of blood.You find yourself hopeful again when the rest of the women stopmourning and pursue their plan of keeping those kids ( men) fromkilling each other. Using hashish and belly dancing!When all of those attempts didn't seem to work for good, they decide toteach them a lesson , each women wakes up and fakes a sudden conversionto her / husband – son! Just to raise a direct question: now you livewith the enemy under one roof, what r u going to do?! Should we killeach other?!Nadine Labky seemingly effortlessly manages too make you live a journey, a beautiful story and tackles a very sensitive issue in a simple yetdeep , all with a funny side added. It makes you wanna complete it tillthe very end.With all the women converted ( pretending) , they all move to burynessim , and suddenly they realize where should he be buried , whichside?. Askin all the same question , where shall we go now?!.

w_halawa

(2013-02-27 03:39:54)

Shows the Full beauty of the Story tilling art

Where Do We Go Now? , is not a casual movie to see, it has more thanthe splendor image and elegance sound and magnificence acting, it is ahumanly senses projected wonderfully on every aspect of the movie, somecould say that the story is a fantasy and not real but all the feelingsdelivered to the heart of audience are truly genuine, it doesn'trequire the audience to have a previous knowledge of the communityculture and suffering to understand and feel every and each moment,message and thought. Technical Cinema Art is more than good, perfectlighting, clever camera and a beautiful editing that doesn't cuts youfrom the sequence, the director was the maestro of this master peace.What prevents this move of reaching the 100% perfection is the youngexperience of the director that was noticed in some small simplemistakes Critics and audience may debate, but I am sure that no onewill argue about the sparking and touchy feelings of the movie and thedirect yet not forced and simple but not shallow message

eloy_lb

(2013-02-26 14:36:23)

Is it by bashing the symbols of Christianity that you try to attract viewers?

This is the worst Lebanese movie I've ever seen. It tells the tale of amixed Christian Muslim village during the war in Lebanon and how thewomen from the village did everything (including a mother shooting herson, go figure!) they could to prevent the ethnic war betweenChristians and Muslims to spread into their village. The idea by itselfis not bad, but what I found unacceptable is that the symbols ofChristianity where severely bashed in this movie and this could havebeen easily avoided so not to hurt the feelings of Christian viewers.I'm no fanatic by any means, but the scenes of Virgin Mary statue beingdemolished and had dirt thrown at it is not a good thing at all. Bywanting to make a symbol movie, Labaki treated the symbols ofChristianity with no respect. I'm with protecting the symbols of allreligions, but I wonder why only the Christian symbols where treatedthis way in this movie and not also the Muslim symbols? I think thatLabaki didn't dare to do this because of the reaction of the Muslimcommunity and this is something that I highly respect in Muslims. Ihope that Christians will wake up soon and treat and defend theirsymbols like Muslims do. One other thing I found ridiculous in thismovie is the opening dance of the women, I guess Labaki wanted to showthe harmony between them, but it was ridiculous.

thegodfathersaga

(2013-02-07 23:42:12)

an ode to peace and to women

for the most part an ode to peace and to women, Where Do We Go Now?portrays a small, isolated Lebanese village threatened by sectarianconflict between Christians and Muslims. the local women from bothsides, hoping to prevent violence among their husbands and sons,conspire to maintain the peace. Nadine Labaki, the director, takes anunconventionally lighthearted approach to a sacred, grim topic. thisworks generally and the film's well-intentioned charm is appealing tosee, although there are some real tragedies that aim to hit hard andthey also work. but that introduces the film's biggest flaw; it'sbecause Labaki plays on the double register of drama and comedy, mixedwith some musical elements, switching from one to the other, that thefilm struggles to find a consistent tone. it's not easy to introduce atragedy like a mother losing her son and then cool the mood withcomedy.it goes without saying that some ideological ideals of the film areproblematic. in essence, the film wonders if the world would be a morepeaceful place if ruled by women. the film often shows women ingatherings, like a mature, unmanipulated force, as apposed to men, whoare senselessly driven by testosterone and intolerance. this notiondoesn't really bother me; it does have some truth to it, and also helpsthe comedic aspect. but it overall brings down the credibility of themore serious moments.

Elie Fares

(2013-02-07 21:34:14)

Beyond brilliant

Lebanese cinematic talent has not been given much room to grow. In acountry where art is the least concern, cinema has found it especiallyhard to take off. However, a stream of Lebanese movies has been findingits way to our theaters. Some like Nadine Labaki's previous movie,Caramel, were a huge hit with viewers. Others were not as lucky. Butthe fact remains that the Lebanese audience is hungry for movies thatdescribe its society, its problems, its worries and woes. And thencomes Nadine Labaki's new movie: Where Do We Go Now, with its Lebanesetitle: W Halla2 La wein (also in French: Et Maintenant, On Va Ou?) Thepremise of the movie is quite simple – and for many Lebanese,worry-inducing for fear of overuse of clichés. The overall basis of theplot is the coexistence of Lebanese Muslims and Christians in onecommunity, sometimes peacefully and other times not. Many, like yourstruly, felt the issue was overdone. Maybe not in cinema but in everydaylife. Most of us are sick of being bombarded with commentary about thestruggles that face our very diverse community. But this is not thecase in Where Do We Go Now. An unnamed village during the later part ofthe 20th century has its only connection with the outside world in theform of a very rudimentary bridge, around which land-mines had beenplanted and never removed. Even TV reception is very poor to thevillage and the movie begins with a few youngsters searching for abroadcast signal to set up a TV night for the town-folks. This villageis also a religiously divided community where the Church and the Mosqueare only a house apart. And more often than not, the people livetogether happily. But as it is, and despite barely having any access tonews from the outside world, the men of this village start to confronteach other in violent ways. Little things that would pass unnoticedcause them to explode, signaling the anger they've been bottling in.And it is then that the few women of the village start to devise plotsto keep the men busy, entertained and get their minds off beingviolent. These plans will vary from fake miracles to putting hashish incakes. But these women will go to every measure possible and breakevery limit imposed on them by society to keep their town together. Andit is for these women, representing a vast majority of our Lebanesemothers, that this movie is so aptly dedicated. Nadine Labaki, directorof the movie and starring as Amal, is astonishing as always. You,really, cannot see her eyes on screen and not be mesmerized. She'ssimply entrancing, even when she doesn't speak. Then how about when shedelivers a tour de force performance as one of those women, who happensto be in love with a man from the town's other religion. But to beperfectly honest, the accolades one ought to give Labaki are not forher acting but for her directing. Never have I imagined a Lebanesemovie can turn out this good and she makes it seem effortless. Hercamera shots, her focus on details, her keen eye… all of this combineto give you a cinematic experience that will entrance you. This movie,like Caramel, features mostly unknown faces and all of them deliver aswell. It is hard to believe – and yet in retrospect so evident – thatsuch acting can come out of common people that we all meet on thestreet. Where Do We Go Now is a movie of such epic proportions thatthese "unknown" actors and actresses (mostly actresses) deliverperformances that are so subtly nuanced, so exquisitely flavored and soastonishingly well-done that they would put the best actresses andactors of Hollywood to shame. Yes, I have said it. The score of themovie is chilling and haunting and wonderfully executed by Nadine'shusband Khaled Mouzanar. The movie also features a few highlyintelligent songs, written by Tania Saleh. And let's talk about thescript. What an ingenious way to tackle the subject at hand. Not onlydid Nadine Labaki not fall to any cliché known to us as a Lebanesecommunity, but she managed to introduce them in a subtle comical waythat would make us laugh at ourselves for uttering or doing them in thefirst place. The script is so strong it will turn you bipolar. Yes,lithium is advised to be taken at the door while going in. Why? Neverhave I laughed so hysterically one moment and just wanted to cry theother. And then after being utterly devastated, it brings you back tolaughter. The movie plays with you like a ping pong ball. And youcannot but love every moment of it. I was talking to my friend the daybefore we went to watch Where Do We Go Now, which happened to be theday it won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, andshe said: "I'm very cautiously optimistic about this. I'm not lettingmy expectations overreach because I don't want to be disappointed."Well, I'm pretty sure she agrees with me on this: Where Do We Go Nowbrings out things in you that you didn't even know you had. It bringsout the best in you, as a Lebanese, sitting in that cinema chair forninety minutes. And you need the best of the best to do that. NadineLabaki, you deserve more than the few minutes of applause the people inthe movie theater gave you. You deserve a full blown standing ovation.You have done the impossible. Again. Lebanese cinema has no excuse butto overreach for excellence now. And this movie deserves an Oscar win.Cheers to our mothers.

harjotarora

(2013-02-07 03:36:04)

The best film after Incendies

Most of the star cast is unknown, except for the stunningactress/writer/producer, Nadine Labaki. Everyone acted extremely welland gave full justice to the script. The film was dealing with acomplex issue, but it was executed in an entertaining and motivatingway that made the movie standout. All the sequence of events allowedfor enough time to show the challenges women face, and the role womenplay in keeping piece and maintaining harmony. Concurrently, there wasplenty of comic relief that allowed for the film to be entertaining.Despite the several bleak and sad moments, there were plenty of hopefuland cheerful situations that made it an incredible film to watch overand over. It's my top 10, and I think it's worth watching twice.

Karen Homsy

(2013-02-06 15:53:12)

Excellent Movie!

I am a big fan of IMDb. I always come here for reference to see movieratings and reviews. But I never had an account--at least not untiltoday. I just came back from watching "Where Do We Go Now?" and I amcompletely blown away. I signed up just to write a review and to tellwho ever reads this to go and watch this movie. I laughed. I cried. Iconnected with the characters. I loved the music, the mood and themessage of the movie. I will not reveal anything about the storyline soas not to spoil it for you. But trust me on this, you will certainlynot regret it. Nadine Labaki has succeeded in orchestrating amasterpiece of a movie. At last, a Lebanese attempt that makes itworthwhile.

kosmasp

(2013-02-06 07:54:51)

War (what is it good for)

The question of the (international) title of the movie can also betaken literally. But let's not get ahead of ourselves shall we? Themovie that is a very nice mix of drama and comedy, will have laughingat one minute and almost weeping at the next. The tension is higherbecause you care about the characters. I guess some people will havetrouble to differentiate/distinguish some of the people involved andyou shouldn't feel ashamed because of that.Remember though, that this movie does involve some effective men/womenstruggle and some truths about life in general. I do wonder ifHollywood will make a remake of this. I wouldn't be surprised. Butuntil then, watch the original and be entertained and sad at the sametime

Andres Salama

(2013-02-05 21:52:01)

Sometimes too broad but entertaining and with a nice message

In a small village in Lebanon, Christians and Muslims live peacefullyside by side. They speak the same language, enjoy the same TV shows,they share broadly the same culture, only their religion divides them.However, peace is only apparent since violent conflict seems to arisewithin a hair's edge. It is up to the women of the village to try topacify the men (sometimes with outlandish schemes) and quell anyarguments which could degenerate into a war. In this obvious crowdpleaser, director Nadine Labaki (who also has a role as one of theChristian women in the village) tries to paint the village as amicrocosm of Lebanon in the years after the long, brutal Lebanese civilwar. If the film is to believed, the country is only in a weak trucebefore Christians and Muslims are at each other's throats again. Iwasn't too impressed with director Labaki's previous film Caramel, butthis one is pretty enjoyable. On the minus side, the humor is perhapstoo broad at times. And a subplot where a group of Ukrainian womendancers are drawn to the village in a harebrained plot to pacify theplace seems pretty weak.

Yamen Ghali

(2013-02-02 07:08:40)

sound cinematic language

Nadine Labaki proves she is a talented director with a lot to say. shebreaks many "regional" taboos, like the use of candid language, only tobe honest in the messages she wants to deliver and the picture shewants to reflect. In a way, due to lack of film production in theregion, society has evolved and changed a lot in the past few decadesand now we need someone like Nadine to provide a true mirror and astrong message. Dealing with the question of religion in a country thatsuffered from civil war is not an easy task, yet it is done in a subtleway that doesn't offend anyone. Delivering messages of the role ofwoman is also presented delicately and a nice sense of humour, thusensuring the message is spelled out clearly without any preaching. Itis a very positive film, well crafted in all aspects, scenario,shooting and most importantly, depicting the characteristics that makesany society special, yet part of the eternal human quest for a betterlife. There was a bit of too much melodrama, but in defense of the film- and from first hand experience, this is the way mothers lament andwail when losing a child. It is a very Mediterranean thing; perhaps theItalians and Greek can understand this element best. I avoided readingany reviews before drafting mine in order not to be influenced by anythoughts. In short, it is a well done film that revives hope ofcultural life sprouting again from this region and reaching the world.Well done Nadine, looking forward to see your next film.

maralline

(2013-02-02 03:03:20)

A wonderful movie, I would watch it everyday

I watched "where do we go now" on Monday at the Stockholm FilmFestival. The movie left me speechless, it was simply one of the bestmovies I have watched in my life. The Lebanese culture, the powerfulwomen, the beauty of diversity, such a great creativity and the actorsare people you may meet next door. It was really amazing. I am alreadya big fan of Nadine Labaki! You have to watch the movie, young, old,man, woman, coming from anywhere in the world, there is something thatyou can identify yourself with regardless of your race, culture orbackground. God bless our mothers and the powerful Lebanese women! Such a beautifulmind you are Nadine! I have never been prouder of being Lebanese!

Fuad Halwani

(2013-01-20 22:26:14)

A Lebanese Lysistrata!

I've been skimming through the reviews posted about this film, and Iwas surprised to see that they are mostly positive reviews. I foundthis weird at first, especially since most of the people I discussedthe film with within my circle of friends and colleagues didn't reallylike it. But then I thought the contrary, this is normal sinceessentially this kind of film is very easily likable.When I watched the movie I felt a lot of things, it definitely did stirup a lot of emotions in me while watching; there were tears, laughs,enjoyable music, and the acting was not bad. But as the film closed Iwas left with a blank face... the bad blank face not the good one.If I were to describe this film in one word, I would say that it is acollage- a pure collage of everything; styles, genres, stories, acting,music. There is everything in it, but I'm not sure if this isnecessarily good. I felt at the end that Nadine Labaki had a lot to sayand wanted to say them all at the same time. I do not blame her, sincemaking cinema in this part of the world is very difficult, a filmmakerfeels that he/she has a lot to say in so few ways.But the essential problem for me in this film was the topic; the epicChristian-Muslim battle in Lebanese culture. Seriously, is this thebiggest problem in Lebanon? Is this even the core of all problems? Iseriously doubt that, rather I think it is the thing that the worldwould like to see about Lebanon; an exotic Kusturica-style village withthe 'typical' Lebanese strife. For me the problem that we need to talkabout is much bigger than that and goes down to the core of this wholenation's existence and the attitude of it's people. But again opinionsdiffer as always.And then there is Lysistrata, again another unconfessed adaptationmixed with unconfessed homages to directors, scenes, styles...There is no doubt that Nadine Labake has surely been one of the pillarsof globalizing Lebanese cinema, and that is a very good thing- theworld now knows (more or less) that there is a country called Lebanonand it has tiny little filmmakers in it... but is this the Lebanon welive in? Does this struggle, this human emotion captured in "Where DoWe Go Now?" echo the struggle we are living in this broken country?

gradyharp

(2013-01-20 11:50:30)

'Even dead they're divided.'

Lebanese actress/writer/director/producer offers on of the mostpoignant statement about the struggle in the Middle East, a strugglebetween Christians and Muslims for power and dominance -a struggle thatwhile real is the most preposterous argument tow 'religions' based onlove could have. Would that more people would watch this film therewould probably be a better understanding of why the ongoing wars thereare likely to never be settled.The story as written by the gifted Nadine Labaki (who also stars anddirects) is that of a little village in Lebanon that is half Christianand half Muslim: the church and the mosque stand side by side and themorning bells from the church play at the same time the Muezzin callsthe Muslims to prayer, the cemetery is divided between the Muslim sideand the Christian side, etc. The balance between the two factions istenuous and the men are always looking for ways to start war amongthemselves. The women of the town try everything to ease the tension -create a café, import Ukrainian belly dancers to distract them, plythem with hashish-laden foods. But when a stray bullet kills the malechild of one of the mothers the division stops, the mother hides theslaughtered child, attempting to keep peace until silly arguments amongthe youths result in the discovery that the endless bilateral tauntinghas resulted in a tragedy. At the end of the film the narrator speaks:'My story is now ending for all those who were listening, of a townwhere peace was found while fighting continued all around. Of men whoslept so deep and woke to find new peace. Of women still in black, whofought with flowers and prayers instead of guns and flares, and protecttheir children. Destiny then drove them to find a new way' - to whichthe pallbearers ask of the divided cemetery, 'Where do we go now?'Labaki understands the need for comic relief in a story of this natureand she provides that in some very warmly funny ways - the womenwalking along in groups sing and do a choreographic step that makes ussmile. But the power of the film is the message of compassion and thedesperate need to re-think the omnipresent crises that tear the MiddleEast apart. And it is quite proper to find similarities in every partof society. Grady Harp

Tim Johnson

(2013-01-19 18:26:19)

An in-site into a much misunderstood society and conflict.

Diane and I saw this delightful film several days ago and its memory isas sharp now as then. The Director manages to put a rounded point onthe sharp knives of the sectarian oriented men of the village and howshe does this remarkable feat sums up the entire film. The director sites the film in an extraordinarily remote small villagein strife torn Lebanon, I believe, to emphasize that these villagersare on their own with little outside influence to taint the purity oftheir own sectarian struggle; there are no outsiders to stir the pot,so to speak. I believe that this is critical to the film's blossomingin that the isolation reinforces the purity of the sequence of theunfolding events.After reading many of the Lebanese comments I cannot subscribe to thenegative judgments of some of them. Obviously, as an outsider, I cannotjudge the veracity of these negative comments but after viewing thefilm and reading the positive reader comments I must believe thosepeople. See the movie and judge for yourself; it is a film from theheart and a, to me, believable insight into a country that has garneredmuch news space but little understanding.

Haitham Bayazeed

(2013-01-19 07:53:19)

Full of hope

Where do we go now? is the most, amazing, attractive, social, dramatic,Lebanese or Arabic movie I have ever seen! i don't advice teens under12 to see it, it's not your taste! But, this movie talks about a veryvery important issue RELIGION, there is no difference, we are allbrothers, right? this movie is not that romantic to be boring andstupid, not that dramatic that can be Romeo and Juliet, it is not thatviolent Town gory movie! it has no genre, they should create a newgenre "HOPE", IT IS, difficult to rate, JUST SO SO Amazing!!!!!!! Iwish they could direct a lot of these movies, not about the same issue,but, hopeful, some romance with some drama, humor, and violence wouldmake the best movie ever, to watch!