A Civilized People
04/09/1999
Lebanese director Randa Chahal Sabbag spins this bleak war drama about the brutal absurdity of the urban warfare of Beirut during the 1980s. Opening with the shocking image of kittens being blown apart, the film loosely follows the travails of Bernadette (Nada Ghosn), a naïve country girl sent to the city as a maid for a mansion long since abandoned by the owners. There she meets Therese (Renee Dick), a veteran house cleaner who takes her under her wing. One day, while accompanying her friend to the cemetery, she meets a rakish Arab militiaman, and the two fall in love.
Movie Information
Jalila Baccar
as Viviane
Tamim Chahal
as Samir
Myrna Maakaron
as Souad
Carmen Lebbos
as Najat
Sotigui Kouyaté
as Ousmane
Renée Dick
as Thérèse
Bruno Todeschini
as Antoine
Paul Mattar
as The Mad Man
Hassan Mrad
as Marwan
