Bennesbeh Labokra, Chou?

Plays | Comedy

2h 02 min | M media | 2015 | General Audience

Performed in 1978 over eight months, “Bennesbeh Labokra, Chou?” takes place in a bar in the trendy Hamra district, hosting a variety of people such as poets, reporters, businessmen and foreigners.

Zakaria (Ziad Rahbani) and his wife Thuraya (Nabila Zeitouni) have moved to Beirut from a rural village and work together at the bar to provide for their family and improve their social status. But as the couple’s ambitions are thwarted by the high cost of living, Thuraya also takes on, with Zakaria’s consent, remunerated escapades with customers to supplement their insufficient salaries and get out of their constrained financial situation.

A comedic tour de force with many faces, sensitively recreated with substantial restoration of original footage filmed with Super 8 cameras over 35 years ago, and retaining iconic music and cult-classic songs performed by the talented late Joseph Sakr, including “Ismaa Ya Rida” (Listen, Oh Rida), “Oghniyat Al Bosta” (The Bus Song) and “Aayshi Wahda Balak” (She is Doing Fine Without You).

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Producer: Mercury

Main Cast: Ziad Rahbani Sami Hawat Joseph Sakr Nabila Zeitouni Rafik Najem Boutros Farah Ziad Abou Absi

M Reviews

Other Reviews

"It felt great to finally watch the original footage and put a face to all these voices that people have been listening to for ages."

( source : BlogBaladi - January 14, 2016 by Najib.)

“[Bennesbeh Labokra Chou] allows the older Lebanese generations to re-experience the powerfully nostalgic play that takes them back to a time when the Lebanon they knew ceased to exist. As for the younger generations, the film not only allows them to put faces to the familiar voices they grew up listening to on the radio, but they also have the chance to compare and reconstruct the scenes they imagined in their minds.”

( Source : Now media – 14January 2016- by Ranya Radwan)

“Far from distracting the audience, the camera maneuvers and zooms, emphasizing the characters. As Rahbani’s character rants and screams at his wife, the camera’s movements underline his rage, turning Rahbani’s small figure into an onscreen giant.”

( Source : Daily Star – 15 January 2016- by Nazih Osseiran)

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