Written and directed by Danielle Arbid, Suzanne and Osmane meet in crisis-ridden Beirut. Osmane is a young Sudanese man without papers, searching for a better future; Suzanne is a widow with Palestinian roots more than twice his age. Against all odds, they fall in love. Starring: Hiam Abbass, Amine Benrachid, Shaden Fakih, Charbel Kamel, Alexandre Paulikevitch, Sami Dekhissi and Rubis Ramadan.
Making a convincing romance is never easy, adding an age-gap makes it even harder, then giving the characters entirely different backgrounds, even more so, and yet Danielle Arbid, along with the performances from Hiam Abbass and Amine Benrachid make this love story completely believable and beguiling. Their immediate connection and chemistry are enchanting to watch, there’s something so pure about it which makes it all the more affective when they’re faced with a prejudiced, hateful world.
With Only Rebels Win Danielle Arbid portrays how difficult it is to go against the grain of society. To stand up for yourself and your love when all the people around you constantly attempt to fill you with shame, guilt and bigotry. Arbid captures how it’s like a boxing match, round after round you’re being pummelled and finding the strength to continue to get up and fight back can become increasingly challenging. The contrast of the simple, joyous nature of Osmane and Suzanne’s love with the loud, brash and obnoxious resistance that they face makes for compelling viewing.
It’s also great to see how Arbid threads through the different elements of racism and misogyny. Particularly the latter in how younger generations will complain endlessly about their ungrateful, cheating, insulting husbands and yet be completely blind to the idea that their mother may have had a similar experience. Expecting the elder generation to simply respect and obey their husbands, even after their passing, no matter how miserable they might have made them. As well as the age-old classic ‘what will people say’, the catch all for prejudice and selfishness.
That great quality to Arbid’s writing is only then enhanced further by the fantastic performances from Hiam Abbass and Amine Benrachid. They manage so well to capture that feel of genuine love and connection, while also portraying the complexities to their characters and their burgeoning relationship. Both of them create such layered performances, filled with a mix of joy and pain, of love and conflict. One of the key elements to that is building a deep respect, even in their toughest moments, having to make difficult decisions and react to challenging moments, you can feel the foundation of admiration and appreciation which lies between them.
The cinematography from Céline Bozon and the direction from Arbid then bring that complexity to life with a rich palette, a nostalgic texture and a style that throws back to the 1970s. The colouring and feel of Only Rebels Win are reminiscent of the work of Rainer Werner Fassbinder. In the sense of how his films have such a self-awareness and politically charged atmosphere, while also holding onto the emotion and intimacy. It’s an intensely enthralling style, which continues to strengthen all throughout the film.
Only Rebels Win is a poignant and quietly heart-breaking tale of love in the face of hate. It’s extremely well shot, the writing is touching and captures the harsh nature of a prejudiced society, facing condemnation from every angle. Hiam Abbass and Amine Benrachid are both wonderful, building a moving romance while also each exploring their characters’ individual, complicated journeys.
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