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The Bekaa Valley lies between Lebanon and Syria, a place where Bedouin tribes adhere to ancient customs, even with the sound of modern warfare all around them. So when a truck burns and blame gets passed around, two sisters—Reem and Jawaher—are offered to make things right, their own thoughts on the matter notwithstanding. Meanwhile, as another sister flees to find life outside the tribe, her male cousin tracks her, but uncovers only grievance and anger. Palestinian writer-director Rakan Mayasi, a student of Abbas Kiarostami and Béla Tarr, makes his feature debut here, working without a script and with a non-professional cast. He drew from his grandmother’s stories of forced matrimony at age 14 and uses that as a launching pad for inquiry into tribal customs, rituals, the sublimation of women, and entrenched patriarchy. The result is a cinematic universe that feels very real and weighted with consequences. ~SM