Showing @ Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Tue 29 Nov @ 8:30pm

Danielle Arbid / Lebanon/Sweden/France / 2011 / 99 mins

Yesterday the Palestinians won a small victory against their perpetual aggressors in the release of millions of dollars in tax revenues owed to them by the Israelis. Not all encounters with Israel have been as peaceful; in Danielle Arbid’s Beirut Hotel there’s a constant expectation of conflict, the whispers of war lingering long after the peace talks end. In Beirut on business, Mathieu (Charles Berling) encounters Zoha (Darine Hamze) and they fall into an awkward love affair. But with ex-husbands, secret police and the pervading suspicion of an Israeli attack, their affections are somewhat disrupted.

The violence in the film, both in that seen and alluded to, directly contrasts the lovers, who even when enraged by the other, soon fall haplessly back into a tender embrace. The infallibility of their love is reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, but Arbid lacks Shakespeare’s intricacy in plot development. Glowing shots of Lebanon bulk out the slightly predictable narrative and evoke yearnings to visit the country, where due to censorship disagreements the film may never be shown. The unexpected and inconclusive ending however leaves you unsure of who to trust and what’s going to happen next. While a nice allegory for Lebanese/Israeli history, it ruins this otherwise visually remarkable piece of cinema.