WHERE DO WE GO NOW?

WHERE DO WE GO NOW?
Written by, directed by and starring Nadine Labacki

Nadine Labacki’s follow up to CARAMEL, her brilliant debut, entitled WHERE DO WE GO NOW? won the People’s Choice Award at last year’s TIFF. I was shocked at the time because I had heard nothing about it before then. I am even more so now that I’ve seen it. I do not see anything remotely satisfying about this farce of a film in which a tiny Middle Eastern village is torn apart between Muslim and Christian beliefs. The women cannot take losing any more of their sons or husbands so they do their best to hide the real world from the men. That plan only works for so long though, mostly because it’s a dumb plan. I get that it’s a fable but the subject in this case is too serious to be trivialized to this extent. At one point, there is a Romeo & Juliet romance hinted at that ultimately goes nowhere and inspires the characters to break out into song. I almost laughed out loud then but an hour later, I was desperate for them to sing again. As horrible and ridiculous as that was, it couldn’t be any more so than all the women drugging the men of the village with hash so that they could distract them long enough to dispose of all their artillery. Then they did sing again and I remembered how bad that was. Then I just wanted it to end. WHERE DO WE GO NOW? is definitely not this person’s choice.