Bint El-Hares

The third and last cinematic effort starring Arab diva Fairuz is a simple, enchanting story set in a fictional Lebanese town about a young girl's courageous efforts to return her father, an aged guard, to his position, from which he was fired due to the peace and quiet and lack of crime in town, which the town council saw as proof of his dispensability rather than his effectiveness. The story is straightforward enough, but what really makes this movie is the picturesque atmosphere of the green Levantine landscapes depicted, and also the beautiful soundtrack composed by the Rahbani brothers, with the opening song easily being a highlight.

The movie is enchanting but also a bit saddening when you contrast the peaceful, almost mythological middle east depicted in this movie, with the present reality, where problems are bigger than a simple miscarriage of justice and require more than a courageous crossdressing girl to solve.