Looking back on our lives, it is a collection of moments which stands out that may come to mind at first, perhaps decisive fragments from our childhood, youth and adult life which have left a significant mark in our memory. First love and maybe even heartache, being in school and friendship may come to mind for most of us, but there are also those moments when we strayed from the path laid in front of us and took a brave step in one direction, which may have turned out to be false. However, these missteps are equally significant as we learn so much about ourselves in these times, which is perhaps why stories about them have become a cornerstone in literature, film and music. In his short film “Unforgettable Memory of a Friend”, French-Lebanese director and journalist Wissam Charaf tells the story of such a moment, a tale about bravery, about first love and about one's misjudgment.
Unforgettable Memory of a Friend is screening at ALFILM
The story takes place in Beirut in 1985, where we meet 13-year-old Chadi (Ralph Hitali) who is one of the top students in his class and, like many of his male classmates, quite taken by the beauty of Raya (Nathalie Issa), who sits behind him in school. However, given his status as a “nerd” and his lack of talent in sports, he thinks he will never get her attention, but to his surprise she invites him to her birthday party. Raya also tells her admirer he will be contacted by a friend of hers and could provide his services as a top student to help others, to which Chadi agrees, thinking he should give her after-school tutoring.
But as Raya's friend arrives a few days later, Chadi finds out he is supposed to help others cheat during their exams in school. Together with Alia (Morgane Bujoli) he takes over a French exam, when, all of a sudden, the group is spotted by an adult and has to flee.
Overall, there are two sides to Wissam Charaf's short feature, the story about youth and young love, but also one about life in the face of conflict. While political upheavals and the sound of conflict are constant in the lives of the characters, with the occasional shot or bombing, the look of the buildings and the general behavior of people, characters such as Chadi, Raya or Alia have found a way to live with it. Even though it might be an overstatement to say they have forgotten or blurred out parts of their reality, they have maintained some kind of routine and, most important of all, their right to have some kind of normality consisting of parties, friends and also making the kind of mistakes we have all done in our youth.
Throughout its short running time, Charaf maintains this precarious balance between the stories of youth and of conflict. The 80s inspired music and the somewhat silly games in the schoolyard, aspects of this “normality” the young characters have established over time, can be disrupted quite suddenly by the sound of a shot or perhaps even a distant bombing. Because of the mistakes they make, their lust for life and their silliness, Charaf's characters become very relatable and likable, which is also due to the performances of his young cast.
In the end, “Unforgettable Memory of a Friend” is a story about a youth in the face of conflict, defined by first love and disappointments. Thanks to the young cast and a carefully balanced script Wissam Charaf's short feature is an entertaining story about the mistakes of a youth in a difficult time.
