‘Beirut’ Movie Trailer Sparks Uproar in Lebanon, Calls for Ban

Social media was up in arms over the trailer of the Beirut movie for its poor depiction of the Lebanese capital.
Social media was up in arms over the trailer of the Beirut movie for its poor depiction of the Lebanese capital.
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‘Beirut’ Movie Trailer Sparks Uproar in Lebanon, Calls for Ban

Social media was up in arms over the trailer of the Beirut movie for its poor depiction of the Lebanese capital.
Social media was up in arms over the trailer of the Beirut movie for its poor depiction of the Lebanese capital.

No sooner had the trailer of the Hollywood movie “Beirut” been released that social media was in uproar with calls for its ban in Lebanon.

The movie, shot in Morocco in 2016, is directed by Brad Anderson and tells the story of an American diplomat, played by Jon Hamm, who left Beirut in 1972 following his family’s death. He is called back to the city by the CIA ten years later in order to rescue a friend, who was kidnapped by an extremist group.

The screenplay was written by Tony Gilroy and audiences are familiar with Hamm, who earned critical acclaim for his starring role in the TV show “Mad Men”. The movie also stars Rosamund Pike, who earned an Oscar nomination for her starring role in the 2014 movie “Gone Girl”.

The 150-second trailer of “Beirut” depicts a city that has been destroyed by the country’s 1975-90 civil war. Images of explosions and gunmen are contrasted with images of children playing with plastic guns. Others show heavy tanks and weapons and buildings ravaged by war. A short scene in particular stoked anger across social media in Lebanon for depicting a very rudimentary sign indicating “Beirut Airport”. Vegetable vendors were also shown at the facility in a scene that social media users said did not accurately reflect the reality at the time. Others slammed the “Beirut Airport” sign, saying that their country’s airport had never been depicted in such a poor manner.

The movie has been described as “scandal” by Lebanese people, pointing out that not a single aspect of the movie is Lebanese, neither the cast, the accents, soundtrack or actual location.

Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury was the first to condemn the movie’s depiction of the Lebanese capital, while a campaign has been launched on social media to ban the film.

One activist asked on Facebook: “‘Welcome to Beirut’ … How can this be the opening line of a trailer of a movie that was shot in Morocco?”

Lebanese censors have not yet taken the decision on whether to release the movie in theaters on April 13, which ironically marks the anniversary of the eruption of the civil war. The censors have not yet received a copy of the movie.

Veteran Lebanese movie critic, Emile Chahine told Asharq Al-Awsat that the uproar over “Beirut” will ultimately help promote it even if it was not release in Lebanon.

“We will definitely not accept the release of a movie that harms Lebanon’s image. More importantly however, it should be banned worldwide because its reflects a negative image of our country.”

The calls for the ban of “Beirut” comes after Lebanon banned "Jungle", a survival drama about Israeli adventurer Yossi Ghinsberg, who got lost in an uncharted part of the Bolivian Amazon in 1981.

The film, starring Daniel Radcliffe, had been screening for two weeks in Lebanon but is now being pulled, a General Security official said on condition of anonymity, explaining that the decision followed a number of complaints.

In May, Lebanon banned the “Wonder Woman” movie because its lead actress, Gal Gadot, is an Israeli.

On Wednesday, and in a rare reversal, Lebanon’s Interior Ministry announced that Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” will be distributed in theaters after overturning a ban by the General Security authority, a senior official said.

The security body had on Monday announced it was banning the Hollywood thriller to comply with an Arab League boycott targeting supporters of Israel.

The Interior Ministry however chose not to sign off on the decision by General Security, which in addition to controlling Lebanon's borders, is responsible for censoring films, plays, and books.

"Interior Minister Nohad Mashnouq is going to allow the film to be shown," a senior ministry official told AFP.

The company distributing the film in Lebanon confirmed that the film, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks would be released in cinemas in Beirut and elsewhere on Thursday.

The acclaimed production tells the behind-the-scenes story of the 1971 publication by The Washington Post of the Pentagon Papers, which exposed the lies behind US involvement in the Vietnam War.



Aloha, Bavaria! Munich Surfers Riding Wild River Wave Again

Aloha, Bavaria! Munich Surfers Riding Wild River Wave Again
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Aloha, Bavaria! Munich Surfers Riding Wild River Wave Again

Aloha, Bavaria! Munich Surfers Riding Wild River Wave Again

Surfing enthusiasts have cheered the reopening of a beloved whitewater site in downtown Munich, the German city better known for partying at Oktoberfest than splashing in the waves.

The Eisbach ("ice brook") standing wave in the city's Englischer Garten park was closed after tragedy struck in April when a 33-year-old woman drowned during a nighttime winter surf.

After a safety review and a petition to keep it open, the site -- just a stone's throw from an art museum and shopping streets -- was reopened by authorities in recent weeks.

Putting on a wetsuit and taking a board out of its bag after a day's work, Moritz, 43, said he's a regular at the surf spot on an arm of the Isar river.

"It's amazing. A wave right in the city center is something very special," he said. "I missed it during the closure."

Nearby, surfers performed tricks with virtuosity on the powerful wave, formed by the presence of rocks on the riverbed near a bridge.

"It's completely different from the ocean," said Moritz.

"Even if you know how to surf very well in the sea, you don't necessarily know how to do it here where the water comes from the front and not from behind."

Another surfer, Irina, 34, said she tries to come three times a week, "before work, because it gives you energy".

She finds "the power of the wave is good" and said she feels safe at this unique spot, even if "there are rocks at the bottom and you have to be a little careful when you fall".

A German surfer lost her life during a night session in April after being trapped underwater for nearly 30 minutes, her leash caught on an unidentified object.

Friends and emergency services rushed to help her, but she died a week after her accident.

An investigation found no safety breaches on the part of the city or state, which had always warned surfers to attempt the challenge "at their own risk".

New guidelines have, however, been issued: night surfing is banned between 10:00 pm and 5:30 am, and the minimum age for braving the wave is 14.

Surfers must also use a system that allows their leash to be detached in case of emergency.

These rules are "largely reasonable", said Franz Fasel, head of the local surfers' association IGSM, who said between 3,000 and 5,000 local surfers use the Eisbach site.

"Surfing is simply part of the lifestyle in Munich," he said. "Not just for the surfers themselves, but also for the city's image."

It was not always this way. In the past, the Eisbach wave was entirely natural and surfable only occasionally, for example, when gravel accumulated in the riverbed.

Surfers took matters into their own hands in the 1980s, installing a river crossing and adding objects to improve the wave, not all well received by the authorities.

The site is now promoted by the tourist office as one of Munich's top attractions.

Bavaria's state premier Markus Soeder proudly declared during a recent visit that "Munich is a surfer's paradise" and Bavaria "a bit like the California of Germany".