‘Dirty Difficult Dangerous’: Hamburg Review

Dir: Wissam Charaf. France/Italy/Lebanon/Qatar. 2022. 83mins

Star-crossed lovers confront mounting obstacles to their happiness in Wissam Charaf’s slight but intermittently charming Dirty Difficult Dangerous. A lightweight approach to some serious issues creates an awkward mix in places but, at its best, the film has the lugubrious air of an Aki Kaurismaki film. Screenings at Venice, where it won the Europa Cinemas Label, and Hamburg could prompt further festival interest in this Beirut-set romantic drama.

Charaf peppers the film with political barbs and a commentary on the plight of refugees in Beirut

Lebanese/French director Charaf shows us a city full of prejudice and hostility to its immigrant population. Ethiopian domestic worker Mehdia (Clara Couturet) is a virtual slave in a household where she has assumed most of the care for retired colonel Ibrahim (an over-enthusiastic Rifaat Tarabay). Inspired by a television viewing of Murnau’s Nosferatu, he lumbers around his apartment, imitating Max Schreck’s embodiment of the undead and then trying to strangle Mehdia. The next moment he is perfectly rational and benign. The use of Ibrahim’s dementia almost as a form of comic relief is questionable in a film where the promising elements of romance, social commentary, deadpan comedy and fable never really get a chance to gel.

Syrian refugee Ahmed (Ziad Jallad) spends his days wondering the streets of Beirut, earning a pittance from the scrap metal he is able to acquire. We first see him in a silent exchange with a store keeper that promises a strain of Elia Suleiman-like whimsicality that never fully materialises. Ahmed has been wounded in battle. His scorched, scarred body seems to be trying to shred the shrapnel fragments that remain in his system. He suffers no pain but the affliction spreads and is turning him into a Tin Man.

Mehdia and Ahmed are victims of trafficking, war and inequality, stuck in a city that is determined to treat them as second class citizens. Charaf peppers the film with political barbs and a commentary on the plight of the refugees.  A banner stretched across one street declares: “Curfew For Syrians from Sunset To Sunrise”. Mehdia’s “employer” is told that: “ Ethiopians aren’t as obedient as they used to be.” The middle-classes regards Ethiopians and Somalians as an expendable source of cheap labour.

Mehdia’s optimistic nature is reflected in a wardrobe that favours bold, bright colours from sunshine orange to strawberry red. She keeps her faith in Ahmed as their initial attraction blossoms into true romance. They snatch at moments when they can be together, seeking shelter from prying eyes. Eventually, the couple makes a decision to pursue a better life elsewhere, which only creates more challenges to overcome.

Charaf tries to cover a lot of ground, but the film’s modest running time leaves the busy storyline feeling rushed and slightly stilted. Jumps in the narrative hinder the smooth flow. (His previous feature Tombe du Ciel in 2016 showed a similar ambition in trying to blend comedy and drama.) The more serious and sincere Dirty Difficult Dangerous becomes, the more engaging it feels. Mehdia and Ahmed are a sweet couple and the adversity they face only makes us more invested in their future, especially as Ahmed’s affliction grows more debilitating.

Ziad Jallad is effectively cast as a lost soul at loose in a bewildering and unwelcoming world. Clara Couturet’s Mehdia provides the drive to his diffidence, investing her character with a dignified determination to ensure that things will get better. Her touching loyalty even helps the viewer accept a distinctly odd closing sequence.