A young man jumps into the sea in Mazen Khaled’s film, which takes an experimental and believable journey into anguish and loss
Grief is a contradictory emotion: an intangible state of mind, while inducing overwhelming physical responses. Mazen Khaled’s masterly Martyr strikes the right balance as it simultaneously grounds the act of grieving in the real as well as the abstract.
On a hot summer day in Beirut, Hassane (Hamza Mekdad) is restless. He lives with his parents who constantly nag him to get a job. Even his masturbation session in the shower is interrupted by his father grumbling about water waste. Dreaming of being submerged in the ocean, Hassane tries to find release at the seaside with his friends, equally aimless loafers who complain about stifling Beirut and their dire romantic prospects. Hassane, in a moment of bizarre clarity, climbs up above the rocky beach and takes a fatal dive.
Grief is a contradictory emotion: an intangible state of mind, while inducing overwhelming physical responses. Mazen Khaled’s masterly Martyr strikes the right balance as it simultaneously grounds the act of grieving in the real as well as the abstract.
On a hot summer day in Beirut, Hassane (Hamza Mekdad) is restless. He lives with his parents who constantly nag him to get a job. Even his masturbation session in the shower is interrupted by his father grumbling about water waste. Dreaming of being submerged in the ocean, Hassane tries to find release at the seaside with his friends, equally aimless loafers who complain about stifling Beirut and their dire romantic prospects. Hassane, in a moment of bizarre clarity, climbs up above the rocky beach and takes a fatal dive.
- 3/9/2021
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
Men touch each other tenderly in Mazen Khaled’s formally eclectic second feature Martyr, about the death of a young adult whose self-perpetuated despair drowns him on the shores of the Mediterranean. In this ethereal Lebanese mood piece, the religious interpretation of martyrdom is counteracted with tangible flesh. Rather than glorifying the loss of life as a divine honor, Khaled subtly revels in the presence of desire and the body as constant reminders that being alive is precious. Unemployed and adrift, Hassane (Hamza Mekdad) only finds respite from his restless mind when tanning by the water with his cherished friends, brothers […]...
- 12/22/2018
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Men touch each other tenderly in Mazen Khaled’s formally eclectic second feature Martyr, about the death of a young adult whose self-perpetuated despair drowns him on the shores of the Mediterranean. In this ethereal Lebanese mood piece, the religious interpretation of martyrdom is counteracted with tangible flesh. Rather than glorifying the loss of life as a divine honor, Khaled subtly revels in the presence of desire and the body as constant reminders that being alive is precious. Unemployed and adrift, Hassane (Hamza Mekdad) only finds respite from his restless mind when tanning by the water with his cherished friends, brothers […]...
- 12/22/2018
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
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