Costa Brava, Lebanon

Released Jul 15, 2022

1h 47m

Drama

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List

90%

39 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

The free-spirited Badri family escapes the toxic pollution and social unrest of Beirut by seeking refuge in a utopic mountain home they've devoted years to building for themselves. Unexpectedly, the government begins construction on a garbage landfill right outside their fence, bringing the trash and corruption of a whole country to their doorstep. As the landfill rises, so do family tensions, and the Badris are left with a choice: stay off the grid and stay true to their ideals, or leave their idyllic home and face the reality they fled.

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Critics Consensus

With an outstanding cast and a thoughtful story that makes the most of its limited setting, Costa Brava, Lebanon reaffirms that the personal is the political.

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Bilge Ebiri

Spirituality & Health

Mounia Akl's film tackles an important and underdiscussed aspect of an important subject. How do you persist as people, as a family, when the world seems to be falling apart around you?

Sep 2, 2022

Full Review

Roxana Hadadi

New York Magazine/Vulture

Part family drama, part political statement, it asks at what point isolation becomes a selfish choice instead of a protective one, and if it’s possible to love your country but also hide from it.

Jul 18, 2022

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Jude Dry

indieWire

Working with powerhouse performances from Oscar-nominated Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki and Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri, Mounia Akl comes out swinging as the next big thing in Middle Eastern cinema.

Rated: A-

Jul 15, 2022

Full Review

Filipe Freitas

Always Good Movies

To flee or to resist? That’s the dilemma faced by self-imposed ‘prisoners’ in another tough wrestle with a corrupt political system.

Rated: 3.5/5

Nov 14, 2022

Full Review

Barbara Shulgasser

Common Sense Media

Not a lot happens, and this dissatisfaction may become a bit repetitive throughout the movie, but each well-drawn character offers a different view on the question of how people want to live their lives.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 9, 2022

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Rene Sanchez

Cine Sin Fronteras

A cautionary environmental fable where complex family dynamics and unresolved trauma threaten to destroy an idyllic paradise. [Full Review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/4

Oct 5, 2022

Full Review

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LE

Beautiful film that depicts the struggle of finding yourself in a troubled country, touching on several issues subtly.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/16/22

Full Review

brent m

With society collapsing around us financially, ethically and environmentally, there may be a strong desire among some of us to escape these conditions, finding hope, health and happiness in an idyllic sanctuary free of negative influences and built on principles of fairness, freedom and sustainability. But is such an idealistic exodus truly realistic, especially when the world's ills suddenly intrude upon such a utopia? And how will such an imposition affect those well-meaning social refugees? Those are the questions raised in director Mounia Akl's second feature, a domestic/ecological drama about a Beirut family that seeks to get away from it all by settling in a rural Lebanese mountain hideaway of their own creation, a locale that seems blissfully perfect – that is, until the government begins constructing a supposedly green landfill on their doorstep. Set in the near future but based on Lebanon's 2015 sudden and acute trash disposal crisis, the nation's leadership is challenged with solving its uncontrolled garbage problem and believes it's found a remedy in the creation of this facility, far removed from much of the country's increasingly angry urban population. It's a prime example of an "out of sight, out of mind" solution, one wherein environmental guidelines are easily ignored and seen as having minimal impact – save for the site's neighbors. The landfill quickly becomes a huge nightmare for the family, but it also exposes cracks in the foundation of their living arrangement, developments that began brewing long before the construction of the new facility. Thus long-simmering weaknesses in the links binding this intrepid band of idealists begin to emerge, placing their future together in escalating jeopardy. The parallels between what's going on in the household and what's happening next door are indeed intriguing, though they're sometimes so subtle that they feel decidedly underdeveloped and not entirely clear, particularly in the picture's occasional satirical and surrealistic sequences. Nevertheless, the filmmaker's attempt to serve up a distinctly different type of story with sublimely engaging psychological and sociological aspects makes for a noteworthy cinematic experiment, one that will likely appeal to those with eclectic sensibilities. And who said trash couldn't be interesting?

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Mounia Akl

Director

Nadine Labaki

Souraya

Saleh Bakri

Walid

Nadia Charbel

Tala

Ceana Restom

Rim

Geana Restom

Rim

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Costa Brava, Lebanon: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The free-spirited Badri family escapes the toxic pollution and social unrest of Beirut by seeking refuge in a utopic mountain home they've devoted years to building for themselves. Unexpectedly, the government begins construction on a garbage landfill right outside their fence, bringing the trash and corruption of a whole country to their doorstep. As the landfill rises, so do family tensions, and the Badris are left with a choice: stay off the grid and stay true to their ideals, or leave their idyllic home and face the reality they fled.

Director: Mounia Akl
Screenwriter: Mounia Akl, Clara Roquet
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: Gaïjin, Boo Pictures, Ginger Beirut Production, Participant, Barentsfilm, Lastor Media, Abbout Productions, Cinéma Defacto, Snowglobe Films, Fox in the Snow Films
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Arabic
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 15, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 13, 2022
Box Office (Gross USA): $18.7K
Runtime: 1h 47m

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