Al-wadi - The valley

Movie

Al-wadi - The valley

Ghassan SalhabLebanon – 2014

Wandering aimlessly after losing his memory in a car accident, a man
is taken in by the inhabitants of a farm in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon,
whose secret business is the drugs they manufacture in a laboratory on
the closely guarded property. The presence of this nameless stranger
has consequences for the clandestine community.
Little separates beauty and horror here. A latent sense of danger
pervades the vast swathes of sublime landscape. A catastrophe looms.
Tensions also rise in the cramped quarters of the house. The identity
of the man without a past becomes an increasing issue as doubts
regarding his amnesia rear their head. Is he a doctor or a mechanic?
An angel or a spy? Like a blank page, he lends himself to fantasies
of all kinds and ultimately becomes a prisoner. At once concrete
and otherworldly, with a powerful soundtrack and images of great
intensity, the film shows a set of melancholy existences on the eve
of the apocalypse. Alongside radio news reports on current political
crises, it leaves ample room for poetry, painting and a love song, and
thus questions the status of art in times of terror and war, that is, in
the here and now.

Original Title Al-wadi - The valley
German Title Das Tal
French Title La vallée
Other Titles Il valle
Directed by Ghassan Salhab
Country Lebanon
Available Formats DCP
Screenplay Ghassan Salhab
Film Editing Michele Tyan
Soundtrack Cynthia Zaven, Sharif Sehnaoui
Cinematography Bassem Fayad
Sound Karine Bacha, Florent Lavallée
Décors Hussein Baydoun
Production George Schoucair, Abbout Productions
Runtime 134 Min.
Language Arabisch
Actors
Carlos Chahine Der Mann - l'homme
Carole Abboud Carole
Fadi Abi Samra Marwan
Mounzer Baalkabi Ali
Yumna Marwan Maria
Aouni Kawas Hekmat
© COPYRIGHT

Texts as well as any visual and audio material on the website of the trigon-film foundation are intended for reporting on the respective film or the promotion of the theatrical release. The material is available free of charge only for reporting on the respective film or its promotion. Any other usage is forbidden through copyright and has to be discussed with trigon-film. Passing on the material to a third party in return for payment or for free is strictly prohibited. The copyright reference © trigon-film.org is mandatory. By using our material you accept our copyright regulations!