Sirens

Director Rita Baghdadi made an excellent documentary about the Middle East's first all-female heavy metal band, which is called Slave to Sirens. These two best friends pursue their art in Beirut as political turmoil unfolds. The film is personal in ways that exceed your usual music documentary. A small film that's worth a watch.

I was intrigued about an all female metal band in the Middle East. This movie has about 5 minutes about that subject. The rest of the band story is just normal intra-band drama that's not unique to Lebanon or women.

The main through line of the movie is about the two guitar players being lesbians. The singer, drummer, and bass player are barely seen on screen. The guitar player's mother has more screen time.

It was about young women fighting against cultural expectations like getting married and having kids, being straight, and not being into metal. The metal band angle is just one more way they are outside of the norm, but it is just the background for the story.

If you're looking for a story about music, bands, and especially the struggles of a female metal band in Lebanon, you will be disappointed.

If you want a story about 20-something Lebanese lesbians trying to find their way in society, and those women just happen to be in a band, then maybe you'll like it.

Though, taking away my disappointment that the "female metal band" angle was just a publicity tool and not the subject of the movie, I still can't recommend it. It's just not compelling. The lives of some random women. Nothing more.

This film is a beautiful portrait which follows some of the most metal people I've ever seen in the chapter of their origin story. Rita Baghdadi is an documentary cinematographer of the highest quality with the instincts of a D. A. Pennebaker. The editing and original score all hold up to these praises as well.

The women who are the subject of this documentary are utterly fascinating. Fearless for the sake of art and protest to the highest degree. But fearless not in a way that they become or try to be different than who they are to find their voice. Fearless in a way that they handle their personas with natural grace in a climate that would prefer they were different (and by that I mean conform.)

There is criticism that the story doesn't offer more. But that is not real life. This is a character study of real life happening in a country on the brink while a group of young women build a metal band (a very good one.) It's a story of LGBTQ acceptance in the face of discrimination and hate. It's a story of protest in the face of dominant oppression. It's the story of women not doing what their supposed to do. I don't know what's more metal than this.

Undoubtedly if you expect a music documentary you will be very disappointed, but this is not the filmmakers' trespass because they didn't pledge any music-genre film.

So is this a movie about a band?

At one point during the film it may seem like a documentary about a band, but also it's not, because you'll finish the film with nothing you knew about the band.

The film only captures the story of two main characters from a female-metal-band in a society that still shows something of conservatism. Lebanon is far more culturally open country compared to its neighbors, so you won't understand wither this movie about the culture challenges that could face a female metal band? But this is not well introduced and captured in the film.

Is it about the freedom of emotional practices in the country? But this is a case discussed timidly during the film.

Is it about the relationship between two main characters in the band? Maybe

I think that the film is about all of that but very cursory with a technique will not satisfy your ambitions. And the usual cliché scenes of revolution and demonstrations in the Arab world without using them in a real way within the context of the story.

Finally I found the film tickles my desire to know the stories, but does not satisfy it, just like a large number of teen indie films in the Arab world.

And I quote from another review "interesting but noting much"

Loved this doc about the first all female metal band from the Middle East! Baghdadi did a great job of exploring life in Lebanon not only as a metal musician but also as a woman - after all, it's all related. It's not easy to be an all female band anywhere, let alone in a region where metal is still more of a nascent genre. The doc also included the effects of the economic crisis and the Beirut explosion on the women's lives and journey as a band. The filmography was really beautifully done and I enjoyed the score as well. I found myself listening to the band nonstop after even though I'm normally not a metalhead. I can't wait to hear more from these women and follow their trajectory!