A director can have almost unlimited means, a whole bunch of stars, thousands of extras, the best VFX supervisors at his disposal and... make a dud. Conversely, you can have little money, no stars, only a fistful of characters, a single setting and produce a deep and endearing work of art. This is what fortunately happened to Bahij Hojeij. His bittersweet slice of life, "Good Morning", is indeed quite an artistic achievement. Which goes to show that he who can do more can do less. And the reverse!
The single setting is a café in Beirut, a drinking establishment which once was trendy, but whose customers have been deserting it for some time. Upstairs, in the midst of the rare drinkers, two old regulars, an eighty-one year old retired general and a seventy-eight year old former military doctor (Adel Chahine and Gabriel Yammine, both splendid), meet every day to do crossword puzzles. For one good reason, to combat the loss of memory that threatens them. At the same time, the establishment having a large bay window, they have a view of what is happening on the street and duly comment on what they see. Another regular customer is Samir, a journalist who works for an online newspaper. The man, in addition to the fact that he exudes sympathy, proves to be a well of science, very useful when the general and the doctor draw blank on a definition. At their service is Ghenwa, a charming waitress with whom Samir is in love and to whom she is not insensitive.
But single setting is not synonymous with closed world. On the other side of the bay window, to begin with, is the street where all of today's Beirut passes in all its diversity. A series of short scenes involving passers-by and taking place under their eyes serves the two old men as a pretext to discuss diverse and varied subjects among which poverty, religion, corruption, manners, dress codes... There are also the other - occasional - customers whose attitude or comments bring the world outside into the café: one speaks in English on his mobile phone, two women exchange about sex and abortion, Samir and Ghenwa talk about their difficult love life. Even more insinuating is the television set that relays live the terrorist attacks not only in Beirut but in Paris as well (hereby implying that no place on earth is absolutely safe anymore, desîte what Ghenwa desperately wants). The current situation, both local and international, is therefore very present in this behind-closed-doors comedy drama. The past is there too: as a matter of fact, the general and the doctor often refer to their younger years, comparing the manners of yesterday and of today (regression of culture, invasion of religion, galloping Americanization) while knowing how to make the difference if necessary (the general, observing two women side by side, one wearing the Islamic scarf and the other in shorts, saying: 'it is beautiful when everyone dresses in their own way').
The national and international situation being what it is, the two friends feeling the approach of death, the whole film is naturally bathed in melancholy, but one that does not exclude lightness or comedy: the general makes jokes and he and his genial soul keep showing self-mockery.
The result is an engaging film, serious - not to say grave - but easy to digest, which works well - realistically and emblematically. On this last point, the symbols (the building being demolished in the image of the culture of the past, the stained portrait of the poet Mahmoud Darwich...) are well integrated into the action, which avoids any heavy-handedness. Another good point is the fact that the writer-director never turns his characters into shreds of ridicule. He shows their defects when they have but respects them and knows how to make us care for them. Last but not least, I would like to highlight the discreet but refined score by Wissam Hojeij, which aptly reinforces the soft and cheerful melancholy of the images.
Of course, this is not a movie made to please fans of frenetic chase races, epic fights and cut editing. If that is what you expect from a picture show, well skip that one. If on the contrary you favor witty dialogue, restrained emotion and sound reflection, you will enter Hojeij's universe and enjoy every minute of his 'Good Morning'. You will leave the cinema fulfilled, with both an amused smile on the face and a small tear in the eye.
