SYNOPSIS
During the 1982 invasion of Lebanon at a quaker school in the mountains above Beirut, 11-year-old Wissam tries to tell a classmate about his crush on her, while his teachers on different sides of the political divide, try to mask their fears.
SYNOPSIS
During the 1982 invasion of Lebanon at a quaker school in the mountains above Beirut, 11-year-old Wissam tries to tell a classmate about his crush on her, while his teachers on different sides of the political divide, try to mask their fears.
SYNOPSIS
During the 1982 invasion of Lebanon at a quaker school in the mountains above Beirut, 11-year-old Wissam tries to tell a classmate about his crush on her, while his teachers on different sides of the political divide, try to mask their fears.
"VISUALLY ABSORBING"
"STUNNING DIRECTORIAL DEBUT"
-Monique Vingneault FILM INQUIRY
"UN HYMNE ÉMOUVANT À L'INNOCENCE"
-Carlota Mosguí CINEUROPA
"A TOUCHING TALE OF FIRST LOVE AND RESILIENCE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT."
"A TRIUMPH."
The depth Mouaness brings to each of his characters, major and minor, is impressive. We feel, in a relatively short time, like we have come to know them and that alone is a triumph.
"A SENSITIVE SLICE-OF-LIFE DRAMA"
1982 has such a wonderful ensemble cast with characters that feel like they each have their own backstory that it’s easy to get swept up in the tension even before the bomber planes make their appearance. The movie explores what it’s like for a child to make sense of senseless violence.
UNLIKE ANYTHING SEEN BEFORE IT IN LEBANESE CINEMA
"1982 EXCELS IN VISUAL ACUMEN AND NARRATIVE BALANCE"
Mouaness’ debut feature succeeds in accessing emotional truths that leave a lingering bittersweet melancholy.
"POIGNANT"
REMINSCENT OF PHILIPPE FALARDEAU'S MONSIEUR LAZHAR, the film is a touching, delicate look at childlike wonder and humanity, and the loss of innocence that comes with adulthood. 1982 demonstrates the complexities of love and war, as well as the resilience of the human spirit.
"a script with NUANCED SUBTLETIES
Oualid Mouaness crafts a beautiful tale of impending separation primarily through the innocent lens of children. It’s an impressive feature film debut that certainly cements his status as a talent to watch for."
-Wilson Kwong THROWDOWN815
"...a tense, heartfelt and moving exploration of the myriad ways divisive politics seep into every facet of human existence, a powerful message in today's divided political climate. With strong performances and A HAUNTING, SLOW BURNING STORY, 1982 has a lot to get invested in."
"Conjured up memories of Roberto Benigni's LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL."
- Keith Whittier OTTAWA LIFE
"Mouaness’ feature-length debut is AUDACIOUS AND ADMIRABLE; it’s very well made, impressively staged and shot with an artistic eye for the smallest of details. 1982 captures that beautiful sense of childhood innocence—wonder and longing—that always seems to get lost somewhere along the way to growing up. "
"1982 uniquely examines the core of people, no matter their age, as the world unravels.With EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCES, we are not only given the opportunity to walk back in time, but to also walk in another’s shoes in a world where the future of tomorrow is truly unknown."
"A SURPRISING FIRST WORK THAT CONQUERS THE HEART AND MIND"
Oualid Mouaness has the talent of a transfigurer, giving us a portrait that is stylized yet so dense and concrete. The camera announces the ongoing tragedy by simply showing what is happening, captures the suspense, the expectations, the tensions, the discussions of the teachers, the pressing calls, the impossibility of ending the exam, the escape on the buses, in the car. We understand everything, without too many explanations. From inside that school we know of a world so far from ours: the open and closed gates that divide Beirut, the political and ideological contrasts, the militia; Meanwhile, Wissam is distracted by his love and by Trigon, the superhero he invented to protect everyone. This is a day that you will never forget.
-Maria Cera TAXIDRIVERS.IT
"Empathetic and inspired coming-of-age story."
1982 fits into the canon of the many cinematic works that have faced the tormented past of the small Middle Eastern nation, from the autochthonous and seminal West Beyrouth (1998) by Ziad Doueiri to one of the many small masterpieces including the one shot by Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, the heartbreaking Incendies (2010). With indescribable grace, Lebanese filmmaker Oualid Mouaness is able to concentrate in the microcosm of a school on the eve of conflict, many of the tensions that characterized the country [Lebanon] at the time.
-Stefano Coccia CINE CLENDESTINO
"La belle prouesse de 1982 est que ce film trace très bien une ligne de partage imaginaire entre deux mondes (celui des adultes et celui des enfants), une frontière qui sépare ceux qui connaissent la vérité de ceux qui ignore la gravité des faits, ligne établie par les adultes pour protéger les petits. D’un côté, on a le représentant du monde de l’enfance, Wissam, et de l'autre on a l’enseignante de Wissam, extraordinairement interprétée par l'actrice et cinéaste libanaise Nadine Labaki.
Malgré l'essence politique et pacifiste de 1982, ce film n’est pas un thriller sur le conflit militaire. Il s’agit d’une fiction émouvante dont le centre est un enfant qui décide de déclarer son flamme à une camarade de classe au pire moment possible. En effet, Wissam craignant que les vacances d'été ne le séparent de sa Joanna chérie (Gia Madi), il profite du fait d'être enfermés à l'école pour lui dévoiler son grand secret. 1982 est un hymne à l’innocence de l’enfance qui défend ses imprévisibles manifestations pendant ce qui a été un des épisodes les plus tragiques de l’Histoire du Liban."
-Carlota Mosguí CINEUROPA
"1982 hits every note perfectly....
A bittersweet and sometimes harrowing meshing of young love and adult anxieties, filmmaker Oualid Mouaness’ first feature 1982 hits every note perfectly... a thoughtful and sometimes terrifying drama. The jets and explosions start getting louder and closer, and the kids and adults start occupying the same desperate headspace. It’s a bleak situation that only grows darker, but Mouaness isn’t above giving the viewer some key moments of hope and kindness. 1982 never shies away from the darkness of its material once all of its pieces are set in place, but it still allows room for genuine, unforced warmth.
-Andrew Parker THE GATE
"A Delicate Film Full Of Humanity"
A SHREWD NARRATIVE conducted very well by the director.
Can the imagination of a child stop the war? Of course not alone, but perhaps it is precisely from those pure feelings that the director of 1982 seems to tell us that we should start again to build any kind of peace.
-Walter Stranieri ASBURYMOVIES.IT