A fragile and wonderful world: powerfully romantic (review)

An eventful and thrilling love story spanning more than 30 years in the heart of Beirut which embraces the violent tragedies and crises that successively hit Lebanon during this period.

The first fiction feature film by Lebanese Cyril Ari opens like a classic romantic comedy. One of those where destiny enjoys blurring the lines on the Map of Tender. Nino, a restaurateur from Beirut, accidentally crashes his car into the offices of the parents of Yasmina, a government consultant. To repay part of his debt, Nino invites the family to his restaurant where, thanks to a childhood photo on the wall, Yasmina suddenly realizes who Nino is, whom she had not seen for 20 years. Nino, her childhood sweetheart, who she thought would be the one of a lifetime, before life, precisely, tore her away from Beirut, following her parents’ divorce.

Built between flashbacks and flashforwards, A Fragile and Wonderful World depicts over 30 years this love story unlike any other that the violent tragedies and crises which successively hit Lebanon will never cease to undermine. Aris masters the art of contrast wonderfully. Between the malice that surrounds the rekindling of these two hearts and the insidious tear that will undermine their relationship when faced with the choices to face the situation in their country: to have children or not? To go into exile or not?

And we find this contrast in his way of filming Beirut, another central character in this film, a city as vibrant as it is damaged, whose sumptuous sunsets and beaches littered with rubbish he films with as much attention. A city seen as an island almost cut off from the world, the same one where Nino had imagined as a child that his parents had gone to take refuge when he learned of their death. We come away from his film with a beating heart, a smile on our lips and a tear in the corner of our eyes. Lovers of great feelings will enjoy it.

By Cyril Aris. With Mounia Akl, Hassan Akil, Julia Kassar… Duration: 1h50. Released February 18, 2026