Director: Maroun Bagdadi
Starring: Hippolyte Girardot
Running Time: 97 minutes
Synopsis: After covering the brutal chaos of the Lebanese civil war for many years, French photographer Patrick Perrault (Hippolyte Girardot) is abducted in Beirut. He is held hostage in confined and filthy conditions, and often secretly transferred to different locations. His emotions fluctuate from defiance to despair as he interacts with numerous guards and their bosses.
What Works Well: Inspired by actual events, director and co-writer Maroun Bagdadi navigates a painful journey to the depths of human misery. With all dignity and independence stripped away, Patrick's only meaningful interactions are with his captors, and even these are laced with the danger of the wrong word at the wrong time. His emotional degradation mirrors a city's obliteration: Hippolyte Girardot finds gnawing despondency behind increasingly hollow eyes, while the opening scenes of urban warfare and brief interludes on the ravaged streets of Beirut capture the horrors of endless civil war.
What Does Not Work As Well: Other than the abstract battles between militias, the absence of contextual background places a high burden on the central protagonist. The kidnappers' objectives remain a mystery, and likewise the outside world's reaction to Patrick's plight is ignored. The vacuum surrounding his emotional state slows narrative momentum to a slog.
Conclusion: Singularly grim, but stubbornly focused on the individual.
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What happen to his girlfriend
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