Wire report
Shadows of Beirut review – chaos and crisis as woman goes back to birth city in fractured Covid-era drama
A London-dwelling émigrée goes back to Lebanon to see her dying father in this somewhat overwrought film examining a difficult childhood This somewhat overwrought drama was apparently shot during the Covid-19 pandemic, partly in the city of the title and partly on sets in a Bulgarian studio. Its higgledy-piggledy production schedule perhaps accounts for the film’s fractured, frenetic quality and the feeling that the characters are perpetually in motion. Mind you, to be fair, the shredded editing might also be meant to reflect the distraught mental state of protagonist Lana (Tala Calil, also co-writer and producer) and the energy of the city itself, a municipality ravaged by wars that also has some of the most chaotic traffic in the Middle East. There’s even a scene where Lana’s new friend Sirine (Flavia Bechara) is driving and wants to take her coat off so she makes Lana take the wheel,
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A London-dwelling émigrée goes back to Lebanon to see her dying father in this somewhat overwrought film examining a difficult childhood This somewhat overwrought drama was apparently shot during the Covid-19 pandemic, partly in the city of the title and partly on sets in a Bulgarian studio. Its higgledy-piggledy production schedule perhaps accounts for the film’s fractured, frenetic quality and the feeling that the characters are perpetually in motion. Mind you, to be fair, the shredded editing might also be meant to reflect the distraught mental state of protagonist Lana (Tala Calil, also co-writer and producer) and the energy of the city itself, a municipality ravaged by wars that also has some of the most chaotic traffic in the Middle East. There’s even a scene where Lana’s new friend Sirine (Flavia Bechara) is driving and wants to take her coat off so she makes Lana take the wheel,
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According to The Guardian’s source item, Shadows of Beirut review – chaos and crisis as woman goes back to birth city in fractured Covid-era drama, A London-dwelling émigrée goes back to Lebanon to see her dying father in this somewhat overwrought film examining a difficult childhood This somewhat overwrought drama was apparently shot during the Covid-19 pandemic, partly in the city of the title and partly on sets in a Bulgarian studio. Its higgledy-piggledy production schedule perhaps accounts for the film’s fractured, frenetic quality and the feeling that the characters are perpetually in motion. Mind you, to be fair, the shredded editing might also be meant to reflect the distraught mental state of protagonist Lana (Tala Calil, also co-writer and producer) and the energy of the city itself, a municipality ravaged by wars that also has some of the most chaotic traffic in the Middle East. There’s even a scene where Lana’s new friend Sirine (Flavia Bechara) is driving and wants to take her coat off so she makes Lana take the wheel,
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-09-22T08:00:39+00:00.
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Primary source: Shadows of Beirut review – chaos and crisis as woman goes back to birth city in fractured Covid-era drama via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- Shadows of Beirut review – chaos and crisis as woman goes back to birth city in fractured Covid-era dramaThe Guardian - 2026-09-22T08:00:39+00:00
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