By Arwad Khalifeh – Article represents opinion of the author

I watched Lebanese filmmakers Sophie Boutros and Nadia Eliewat’s new romcom, “Solitaire,” last week and I still get a warm fuzzy feeling every time I think about it. The
movie is so beautifully written, combining a wonderful sense of humor
with just the right amount of emotional content, that’s enough to bring
tears to your eyes without having you reach for tissues while everyone
else reaches for their popcorn. In the words of its creators, the
movie revolves around “Therese, the mayor’s wife in a Lebanese village,
who joyfully prepares for an overnight visit of her daughter’s suitor
and his parents. She excitedly shares the happy news of the engagement
with pictures of her beloved brother who was killed by a Syrian bomb 20
years ago and is still bizarrely present in every corner of her house.
Only when the long-awaited guests are at her doorstep, she discovers
they are Syrian; this engagement will only happen over Therese’s dead
body!” With that being said, the brilliant script couldn’t have been brought
to life without its wonderful (and very well-selected) cast. “Solitaire” – aka “Mahbas” – stars Julia Kassar (Therese), Ali
El Khalil (Maurice), Bassam Kousa (Riad), Nadine Khoury (Nazek), Betty
Taoutal (Solange – my fave character), Serena Chami (Ghada), Jaber
Jokhadar (Samer), Said Serhan (Marwan) and Daniel Balaban (Imad). Besides the great acting and picturesque filming locations, the film’s music was literally music to my ears. Composed by Ziad Boutros, la musique was a blend of beauty, passion and joy with sprinkles of magic. All in all, I rate the film a 10 out of 10.