Labaki focuses on a group of women, and with a light touch she
highlights the religious tensions between Christians and Muslims in a
remote Lebanese village. The message about religious tolerance is
clear, but is delivered in Labaki’s often frolicking manner, as the
women conspire to distract the menfolks’ attention from the wider
conflicts of their region. “this bittersweet celebration of motherhood
deftly blends wry satire with broad comedy while never losing sight of
the tragedy of its subject matter”, Mark Kermode, The Observer. (Cert
12A)
Dir: Nadine Labaki 98 mins Fra/Leb/Egypt/Italy 2011
Programme Notes
Where Do We Go Now?
(Et maintenant on va où?)
Fra/ Leb/ Egypt/ Italy 2011 98 minutes Cert. 12A
Where Do We Go Now? is director Nadine Labaki’s bittersweet comedy about a group of Lebanese women who try to stop religious conflict from destroying their community, which won the Toronto Film Festival fan’s award in 2011.
It is set in an unnamed Lebanese village inhabited by both Muslims and Christians, surrounded by land mines and reachable only by bridge. As civil war engulfs the country, the women of the village plot together to keep their hotheaded men in the dark: sabotaging the village radio, destroying the TV, and eventually going to more bizarre and comedic lengths to ensure their community remains intact. But just how far will they go to prevent bloodshed from infiltrating their lives? Labaki is a natural storyteller and, as in her previous 2007 film Caramel, the considerable charm of this film stems from her ability to create strong female characters who interact with each other using humour and provocation.
Takla – Claude Baz Moussawbaa
Afaf – Leyla Hakim
Amale – Nadine Labaki
Yvonne – Yvonne Maalouf
Rabih – Julian Farhat
Director – Nadine Labaki
Screenplay – Rodney Al Haddid, Thomas Bidegain, Jihad Hojeily, Nadine Labaki, Sam Nessim
Original Music – Khaled Mouzannar
Cinematography – Christophe Offenstein
Producers – Nadine Labaki, Anne-Dominique Toussaint
“Labaki’s effort falls slightly short of Nanni Moretti’s recent religious satire We Have A Pope (2011) on an intellectual level, but Where Do We Go Now? is far more accessible for mainstream audiences and only the most cold of souls will not be charmed by this most modern moral parable.” Lee Cassanell, Cine Vue.
Comments
“Great film all round”
“Should be compulsory viewing at every place of religious worship.”
“Despite the extreme contrast between the emotionally driven drama and light-hearted comedy, this film just about worked. As a film that balanced the battle of the sexes with religious and political allegories, it was subliminal.”
“Showed the power of women change things – well done!”
“Should we really let women rule the world? Mrs T. wasn’t exactly a pacifist!”
“Strange but compelling! What were the Russian girls doing?”
“The joys of village life!”
“Lebanese Bollywood with a dash of Romeo and Juliet”
“Improbable but entertaining. I liked the ending.”
“Quite entertaining, though lightweight and rather repetitious – amusing at times.”
“Interesting idea but didn’t quite work for me – too uneven.”
“Too variable”
“What a heel!”