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Solitaire
Movie

Solitaire

2017 • Unknown

Woke Score
4
out of 10

Plot

Therese, the mayor's wife in a Lebanese village, joyfully prepares for an overnight visit of her daughter's suitor and his parents. She excitedly shares the happy news of the engagement with pictures of her beloved brother who was killed by a Syrian bomb 20 years ago and is still bizarrely present in every corner of her house. Only when the long-awaited guests are at her doorstep, she discovers they are Syrian; this engagement will only happen over Therese's dead body!

Overall Series Review

Solitaire (Mahbas) is a Lebanese romantic comedy-drama centered on the deep-seated ethnic prejudice held by a Lebanese mother, Therese, against Syrians. Her animosity stems from her brother's death during the Lebanese Civil War, killed by a Syrian bomb. The entire premise is built on her frantic and humorous attempts to sabotage her daughter's engagement when she discovers the suitor and his family are Syrian. The film's primary narrative drive is a push for forgiveness, tolerance, and the overcoming of historical and nationalistic hatred in favor of love and personal connection. The mother is a powerful, flawed central figure, while the father is portrayed as weak and unfaithful, navigating the chaos created by his wife. The film operates entirely within the context of Lebanese and Syrian culture, dealing with regional tensions, inter-community racism, and traditional family customs without reference to Western cultural politics or religious critique.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics7/10

The plot is entirely built upon the conflict between two national/ethnic groups: Lebanese and Syrian. This constitutes a high focus on identity and immutable group characteristics (nationality/ethnicity) over individual merit, as the mother judges the suitor solely by his origin. The film's ultimate message is the classic 'woke' one of overcoming group prejudice and promoting tolerance, which places the narrative squarely within the identity politics framework, though applied to a regional conflict rather than Western racial hierarchy.

Oikophobia1/10

The film does not target Western civilization, its ancestors, or core institutions. The hostility is *inter*-Arab, a specific historical antagonism between Lebanon and Syria, with the narrative working to heal that civilizational breach. The central theme of tolerance and overcoming regional hatred is framed as a move toward a better future for their shared culture, which does not align with the definition of civilizational self-hatred of a 'Western' home culture.

Feminism5/10

The main female character, Therese, is the strong, active force driving the plot through her 'Machiavellian' machinations, controlling the narrative's tension. Her husband, the mayor, is a bumbling figure who is easily manipulated, weak, and distracted by an extramarital affair, which serves to emasculate the male figure relative to the dominant female. However, the overall structure is centered on a traditional engagement and family life, balancing the 'Girl Boss' trope with a commitment to the family unit.

LGBTQ+1/10

The story exclusively focuses on a traditional male-female pairing and a nuclear family engagement within a conservative cultural context. There are no elements of centering alternative sexualities, deconstructing the nuclear family structure through queer theory, or promoting gender ideology, which aligns with the 'Normative Structure' category.

Anti-Theism1/10

The narrative's central conflict is geopolitical and ethnic, not religious or theological. The film operates within a traditional, religious-conservative cultural sphere, but the story does not contain overt hostility toward religion, specific Christian characters as bigots or villains, or an embrace of moral relativism. Objective Truth and traditional moral laws are assumed within the family structure.