The Insult

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L'Insulte () is a 2017 drama film directed by Ziad Doueiri.

This French, Lebanese, Belgian, Cypriot and American co-production is presented as an official selection at the Venice Mostra 2017.

Synopsis
In Beirut, Yasser, a Palestinian refugee, is a construction manager in a public works company. Tony, a Lebanese Christian sympathetic to the Lebanese Forces, lives with his pregnant wife Shirine in an apartment overlooking the construction site where Yasser works. The latter tries to repair the gutter of Tony's apartment, which opposes it violently. Yasser then utters an insult to Tony. He refused to apologize to him and, in a moment of anger following racist remarks about the Palestinians made by Tony, struck the Lebanese and broke his ribs.

The two men are in court, but the judge does not condemn Yasser to Tony's fury. The latter decides to appeal. But one night, Tony will work in his garage, regardless of the rest he must observe due to his broken ribs. His wife, Shirine, is trying to help him, but the efforts she makes lead to her premature delivery. The prospect of the possible death of the newborn affects the appeal process.

Wajdi Wehbe becomes Tony's lawyer, while Nadine Wehbe, Wajdi's daughter, defends Yasser's interests. The trial ignites opinion by reviving Lebanese community divisions. Accused of Zionism, Tony receives death threats and sees his garage tagged with a star from David.

The president of Lebanon receives Tony and Yasser to ask them to reconcile, but Tony refuses until Yasser apologizes. As they leave the presidential palace and join their cars, Yasser's car refuses to start, and Tony promptly solves the problem.

Wajdi learns that Tony was born in Damour in 1970, which he left in dramatic circumstances following the massacre perpetrated by Palestinian militias. He made the Court view filmed images of these events, which upset Tony and led him to leave the room with his father.

Yasser came to see Tony at his garage, and provoked him by telling him that the suffering of the Christians in Lebanon was not heavy in the face of the suffering of the Palestinians. Tony hits him, and Yasser apologizes. Tony's daughter and Shirine can leave the hospital.

The judges decide not to condemn Yasser. Both men seem ready to reconcile.

Historical references
Each of the two protagonists turns out to have been marked by a traumatic historical event: the massacre of Damour in the case of Tony, and Black September in the case of Yasser. In addition, Bachir Gemayel and Ariel Sharon are mentioned for their role in the Lebanese civil war.