Adel Karam as Toni Hanna and Kamel El Basha as Yasser Abdallah Salameh in The Insult (Palace Films)

In an interview with KCRW’s Kim Masters, Doueiri admitted that The Insult is based on words he said to a tradesman. Doueiri joked about being a hothead, but unlike his characters, he heeded his partner’s advice and apologised to the person he insulted. I suppose an apology does not make for a dramatic enough story, although in less Hollywood-influenced hands, it might. Doueiri worked under Quentin Tarantino on a number of his films and is an admirer of that auteur’s histrionics. Had Doueiri kept his subject contained to the personal, rather than allowing it to escalate to catastrophic proportions, his film might have resonated with the emotional depth of A Separation (2011), Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s excoriating vision of selfish behaviour and self-justification.

Doueiri has been a vocal opponent of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement that advocates cutting off all ties with Israel, his argument being that pro-Palestinian Israelis will be penalised by such actions. Moreover, his earlier feature, The Attack (2012), was banned in twenty-two Arab countries because he shot it in Israel with an Israeli crew. It is illegal for Lebanese citizens to visit Israel, and it was likely that The Insult would also be banned in Lebanon. Although this did not happen, Doueiri expresses surprise that the film has been banned in Palestine, a great disappointment to co-lead Kamel El Basha who is the first Palestinian Arab actor to win the Volpi Cup (best actor) at the Venice International Film Festival. Compared to the dramatics required of his co-stars Karam and Salamé, El Basha does give an understated and nuanced performance – his twitching cheek enough to indicate the degree of his discomfort – but it is difficult to believe that his award was not, at least partially, politically motivated.

A still of Kamel El Basha in The Insult (Palace Films)

‘It pays to be Palestinian,’ shouts Toni as he is dragged from the courtroom the first time his claim against Yasser is dismissed, exacerbating an already incendiary situation.

I don’t pretend to understand Middle Eastern politics, but I do begin to understand why The Insult has picked up accolades and awards, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Doueiri serves up the complexities of the Palestinian/Lebanese conflict in a palatable, dare I say simplistic, and occasionally overwrought manner that is likely to appeal to both conservative audiences or those who prefer an optimistic rather than an open-ended outcome. In this opinion I am out of step with most reviewers who, like Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, believe that ‘even at its most blunt and obvious, this is a movie that stumps for empathy. Who can argue with that?’

The Insult, writer/director Ziad Doueiri, Arabic with English subtitles, 110 minutes, distributed by Palace Films, Australian release: 30 August 2018.

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