The Insult            2 ½ stars

Critics and audiences alike seemed to like this courtroom drama set in Lebanon about a Lebanese man taking a Palestinian refugee to court over an incident in which the Lebanese man provoked an insult from the Palestinian.  The courtroom battle spills over into a giant media circus as the case gets nationwide attention and the population takes sides according to their political beliefs.  It was well acted and directed but I had a tough time relating to the story as the premise seemed somewhat farfetched to me.  Most people would settle such an incident privately.  And of course not being from the Middle East it is hard to relate to the cultural differences that would exist among the ethnic groups in Lebanon.  The Insult received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language film.