Where Do We Go Now? (2011)

I seem to be reviewing movies that ask what might be considered to be philosophical questions.  Where do we go now?  Why stop here?  But this movie isn't slapstick, not at all.  It addresses very serious and ongoing issues about religion, violence, and community, but in a way that you can enjoy and occationally laugh about.  I think both approaches have merit, and a balance between them is a good way (for me, at least) to frame the problems and think about solutions.

The setting is Lebanon.  Lebanon has done some fantastic films of late ('Caramel' being my favorite) and it has a complicated history in the Middle East--we often forget that because as Americans we are so focused on Israel and the conflict between Jews and Muslims.  The issue with Israel is about it's existence as a country--the Palestinians do not recognize it's existence, and there are many Arabs who share that point of view.  It's youth makes it's legitimacy a focus.  Lebanon is only a tad older as an independent nation than Israel (1943 versus 1948), and it has the same religious baggage.  The Roman Empire conquered the region in 64 BC and it became a center for Christianity in the region.  Christians still are a significant population in Lebanon, and that is where the story for this film centers.

It is set in a small village which has both Muslims and Christians--they argue with each other along religious lines--and they kill each other along those divides as well.  Violence is raging in the country, and news of atrocities on both sides are an all too frequent occurence.  The women of the village are just tired of all the death, all the mourning, all the funerals, and so they plot to keep their men in line.  They do all sorts of things to effect change--deception, sexual distraction, prevarication, secrecy, you name it, they use it.  They have a goal in mind and they work across religious boundaries to effect that change.  It is a crowd pleaser, to be sure, but underneath all the humor there is a message that all this needs to end, and if men can't bring that about, maybe it is time to give women a crack at solving the problem.