DEGRADE
DISCOVERY D: Tarzan and Arab Nasser. Palestine/France/Qatar. 84 min. Sep 14, 7:45 pm Scotiabank 11 Sep 16, 3:15 pm AGO. See listings. Rating: NNN
This audacious debut from the Nasser brothers honours the astonishing resilience of women living in Gaza. Thirteen women become trapped inside a hair salon while gangs and the Palestinian authorities engage in a gun battle over ostensibly a stolen lion.
The film begins as a series of conversations among the clients, revealing their complex domestic issues, but then blossoms into a portrait of an entire society under siege. Savvily, the writers make Israel an occasional footnote.
Unfortunately, the filmmakers fail to solve the essential problem of creating a closed environment the film is grossly under-lit. But these are talents to watch, for sure.