DMovies - Your platform for thought-provoking cinema

Miguel’s War

Director - Eliane Raheb - 2021

"Dirty gem"
In this probing confessional, a frightened Lebanese gay man makes peace with his past - documentary premieres at Raindance

Although he was best known for his comedies, Oscar Wilde’s most honest came in the form of a letter, later published under the title De Profundis. Fuelled by the betrayal of his loved ones and his family, Wilde committed many of his most unvarnished thoughts onto paper as a way of exorcising any demons that were still swirling in his brain. Fast forward one hundred years, and another gay man uses this same method to move on from his past failings. What makes Miguel’s War so astonishing to watch is its unflinching resolve to allow Miguel Jeleaty the chance to tell his story without shame or embarrassment.

The son of a strict Catholic father, Jeleaty watched streets demolished during the Lebanese War. LIke many gay men growing up in a war zone, Jeleaty had no one to trust, and couldn’t turn to the support of his Syrian mother. Electing to join the army, Jeleaty did what he could to leave his “tendencies” behind him, but try as he could, he could never abandon the person he was meant to be. When he arrived in Barcelona, he opted to change his outlook, and adopted a more progressive standpoint, channelling the gay man to influence his life choices and directions.

We don’t often get to see someone speak so nakedly about their lives, and Jeleaty’s story is extraordinarily brave to watch. It would be unfair to say he’s happy with the direction of his life-we sense that he carries the hurt he inflicted on those near and dear to him- but what we get is someone as unashamed in their personal narrative as Wilde was in his.

Barely off screen for a minute, Jeleaty has to carry the weight of the documentary entirely on his own shoulders, and in one beautiful montage, dresses himself up in kaleidoscopic red scarves. Testing the limits of his body, Jeleaty is keenly aware that he’s testing the parameters of his viewers as he does so. But it’s only by pushing audience limits that societies progress, and the fact that Jeleaty is open to this type of scrutiny makes him worthy of our intellectual time and energy, Wild and Jeleaty might be two voices who voiced their dilemmas to the world, but there’s a whole wealth of vulnerable gay people out there in the world who need our support and friendship. And if this film helps anyone else find their voice, and come out with their struggles, then it’s all the richer for it.

Miguel’s War The film premiered earlier this year in the Panorama section at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Teddy prize, and took second place for the Panorama Audience Award. It shows at the Raindance Film Festival, which takes place between October 27th and November 6th.



"Dirty gem"

By Eoghan Lyng - 21-10-2021

By Eoghan Lyng - 21-10-2021

Throughout a journey found through his own writings and the writings of other filmmakers, Eoghan has taken to the spirit of the surreal to find greater meaning from the real. He finds it far easier to...

DMovies Poll

Are the Oscars dirty enough for DMovies?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Most Read

Forget Friday the 13th, Paranormal Activity and the [Read More...]
Just a few years back, finding a film [Read More...]
A lot of British people would rather forget [Read More...]
Another year has gone by, and DMovies is [Read More...]
A small family of four lives in a [Read More...]
Pigs might fly. And so Brexit might happen. [Read More...]

Read More

I am the Tigress

Philipp Fussenegger and Dino Osmanoviç
2023

John McDonald - 17-03-2023

The life and career of Tischa ‘The Tigress’ Thomas during the last year of her chosen occupation as an African American female bodybuilder is the subject of doc challenging normative femininity - from WatchAUT: the Austrian Film Festival [Read More...]

Vera

Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
2023

Lobo Pasolini - 16-03-2023

Vera Gemma plays a version of herself, in his hybrid docudrama about famous parents and pointless existences (also featuring Asia Argento) - from WatchAUT 2023: Austrian Film Festival [Read More...]

Wolf and Dog (Lobo e Cao)

Claudia Varejao
2023

Lobo Pasolini - 15-03-2023

Kaleidoscopic and poetic drama pays tribute to queer life on a remote Portuguese island - from BFI Flare, which takes place between March 15th and 26th [Read More...]

Facebook Comment

Website Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *