‘A Sad And Beautiful World’ review: Lebanon’s Oscar hopeful is appealing, soulful romance

Dir: Cyril Aris. Lebanon/USA/Germany/Saudi Arabia/Qatar. 2025. 109mins

A couple are constantly buffeted between hope and heartbreak in A Sad And Beautiful World, Cyril Aris’s first fiction feature which follows the lovers over three decades as they navigate the legacy of past lives and a Lebanon marked by civil-war. The result is an appealing, soulful romance with a considerable emotional tug, which now plays Red Sea compitition following a premiere at Venice (where it shared the People’s Choice award with Vladlena Sandu’s Memory) and extensive fesitival play. It has also been selected as Lebanon’s official Oscar submission.

The pace and energy of the film’s first half create an entertaining affair 

Yasmina and Nino are born within one minute of each other at the same Beirut hospital, a day filled with incident as the city is under attack and a rocket is being launched into space. Years later, Nino (Hasan Akil) is running Chez Nino, an Italian restaurant with a Lebanese twist.

There is a breezy, rom-com bounce to the early scenes as a car accident becomes a classic ‘meet cute’ means of instigating a reunion with Yasmina (Mounia Akl). Dining at his restaurant, she recognises a photo on the wall and realises that she was once his schoolmate. Flashbacks reveal the extent of that early bond and its abrupt ending. Impressive performances from Alex Choueiry as the young Yasmina and Mohamad Farhat as the young Nino lay a solid foundation for the attraction that will last a lifetime.

Nino is overjoyed by their reunion and Yasmina is charmed by his enthusiasm. Fate may have brought them back together but we are made aware that they are very different people. Nino is a born optimist with big plans for a revamp of his restaurant. Bathed in a warm, inviting glow, his kitchen is cluttered and chaotic. Yasmina is a workaholic government consultant who operates in an antiseptic high rise office, making important presentations to deaf ears.

Aris and co-writer Bane Fakih constantly sketch out the personality differences that could divide the happy couple. They are both presented as a product of their past lives and their family histories. Nino believes patterns of behaviour can be broken. He wants to sweep Yasmina off her feet, while she remains someone firmly rooted to the ground. Within six months of meeting, he has proposed marriage and can envisage family life together. Bitter experience has taught her that family units don’t always endure. Who would bring a child into a world beset by conflict and climate change?

The pace and energy of the film’s first half create an entertaining affair propelled along by hope and the possibility of happiness. Charismatic performances and great chemistry between Akl and Akil leave little doubt that Yasmina and Nino belong together. The lingering looks of affection and disarming moments of humour enhance the romantic mood and supporting characters – including Yasmina’s formidable mother Oumaya (Julia Kassar) and Nino’s temperamental chef Chafic (Tino Karam) – add to the swirl of tensions.

It seems familiar and even conventional, but then the second half brings a change of tone as cold reality begins to dawn. We have a sharper awareness that the couple are at the mercy of circumstances beyond their control. A constant background refrain is the life of Lebanon itself. Sounds of distant gunfire, images of barbed wire and archive footage woven through the film speak of civil war and a financial collapse that leaves a question mark over the future of Chez Nino. Why stay when there seems more sense in leaving?  

Yaris takes a risk is snatching away what felt like a easy happy ending but the reward is a richer, more complex central relationship. Love might not conquer every obstacle, but it is all they have.