The Middle Eastern film festival at my house is nearing its end but before I moved on to a recent influx of Japanese screeners it was time for the much-lauded Lebanese documentary Grandma, A Thousand Times.
Widowed Fatima El Ghoul may be illiterate and have had six kids but in 48 minutes she shows enough of her character for the viewer to get a deep understanding of how years of war have affected the normal people of Beirut.
She may never leave her flat any more but, in her family's words, she is the glue which holds them together.
The film pours love from the lens of its director Mahmoud Kaabour, her grandson, who was named after her husband. Ironically, Kaabour looks just like his grandfather did at his age.
He lives in Canada but on his visit to the Lebanon brings the past back to his grandmother by playing her the music his namesake used to play. He has transferred it from old cassette tapes to his ipod.
This new tech is far from Fatima's normal routine.
She sits on the sofa on her balcony for much of the day, chatting to neighbours across the way, ordering food from the merchants who peddle in the street (she lifts her purchases via a bucket on string) and watching the world go by.
She smokes her arguileh (shisha pipe) every day and makes her observations on the world. These are both cutting and fascinating.
As said, Grandma is a short feature but should nevertheless be cherished.
Laughs: one brilliant laugh out loud moment right at the end of the film
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 7/10
This movie is appearing as part of the Middle Eastern Film Festival at Edinburgh Film House. Thanks to James Mckenzie for the screener.
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