Overview
A courtroom battle ignites a national conversation about identity and prejudice in modern Lebanon.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- serious
- politically charged
- political film night
- arthouse movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly praise the film as a gripping, thought-provoking courtroom drama that uses a familiar framework to confront modern Middle Eastern politics.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Toni and Yasser's personal dispute becomes a courtroom and media spectacle that exposes Lebanon's social divisions.
The proceedings uncover secret wounds and traumatic histories behind the men's opposing identities.
Testimony and revelations transform the case from a dispute over an insult into a confrontation with painful past experiences.
The media circus surrounding the trial amplifies the conflict and turns it into a national social explosion.
Films like The Insult, and why
A Separation
courtroom tension, ethnic conflict, political context, and emotionally charged moral confrontation
The Trial of the Chicago 7
social prejudice, institutional pressure, and a gripping legal framework exposing personal trauma
The Insult
political drama grounded in historical grievance, community division, and escalating interpersonal conflict
The Verdict
intense courtroom proceedings used to examine collective identity, prejudice, and social injustice
Movie Details
- Director
- Ziad Doueiri
- Release Date
- 2017-09-14
- Runtime
- 112 min
- Rating
- 7.5 / 10 (493)
Cast
- Adel Karam
- Kamel El Basha
- Diamand Abou Abboud
- Rita Hayek
- Christine Choueiri
- Talal Jurdi
- Camille Salameh
- Julia Kassar
- Rifaat Torbey
- Carlos Chahine
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, Fandor Amazon Channel, Cohen Media Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Insult about?
- A volatile Beirut dispute between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee becomes a courtroom reckoning with prejudice, memory, and national trauma.
- What is The Insult like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Insult as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Insult violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Insult as mild.
- What did critics think of The Insult?
- Critics broadly praise the film as a gripping, thought-provoking courtroom drama that uses a familiar framework to confront modern Middle Eastern politics.
- Which films are like The Insult?
- Films with a similar feel include A Separation, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Insult, and The Verdict.
- How long is The Insult?
- The Insult runs 112 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Insult?
- In United States, The Insult streams on Philo, Fandor Amazon Channel, Cohen Media Amazon Channel.
