Synopsis
بيروت الغربية
“Growing up is only half the battle.”
In 1975, the long slog of civil war has recently begun in Beirut. A high school student named Tarek is thrilled by all the chaos and upheaval because he no longer needs to go to school. Plus, he finds negotiations between West and East Beirut interesting. Tarek is accompanied by his buddy Omar as the two shoot Super 8 films of the tumult around them. The jovial mood takes a tragic turn when Tarek's parents start fighting over whether or not to flee Beirut.
The 1997–1999 Other Asia Window
22 Other Asia films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. West Beirut sits at position #7.
The 1990s Other Asia Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 1990s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when West Beirut premiered. 53 total titles in this decade from Other Asia.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #110 of 547 Other Asia films indexed here (80th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +0.7 points above the Other Asia average of 6.6/10.
Among Other Asia Romance productions specifically: #11 of 86 (top 13%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Other Asia |
|---|---|
| All Production Countries | Lebanon, Belgium, France, Norway |
| Original Language | Arabic |
| Spoken Languages | Arabic, French |
| Production Companies | RTBF, Exposed Film Productions AS, Douri Films, Ciné Libre, ACCI |
| Runtime | 1h 45m |
| Release Date | September 1, 1998 |
| IMDb | tt0157183 |