Portrait of a Certain Orient

Portrait of a Certain East, directed by Marcelo Gomes and based on the eponymous novel by Milton Hatoum, is a black-and-white drama that explores the traces of exile, memory, and the bonds that arise amid adversity. The story follows Lebanese siblings Emir and Emily, who leave their homeland to flee from war and embark on a journey by boat to Brazil, the promised land where they hope to find a new beginning. During the voyage, Emily (Wafa'a Celine Halawi), from the Christian community, discovers an unexpected love in Omar (Charbel Kamel), a Muslim trader. This bond, marked by passion and boldness, becomes an act of hope that challenges cultural and religious barriers, but at the same time ignites the anger of Emir (Zakaria Al Kaakour), who is unable to free himself from the trauma of his parents' death at the hands of Muslim militias during the Lebanese civil war of 1949.

The film portrays the East as a place that is physically abandoned but remains in the memory and emotional wounds of the exiled. Emily represents the possibility of rebirth in an unknown territory, while Emir embodies the impossibility of forgetting, constantly reminding that collective traumas mark the lives of those who emigrate. Gomes contrasts this painful heritage with the illusion of Brazil, which presents itself as a space of freedom and love, although the director warns of the risks of idealizing it through scenes in the Amazon, where indigenous communities face speculation and the loss of their lands.

With a sober narrative style and a symbolic use of nature, Gomes constructs a classic melodrama that speaks not only of forced displacements but also of the courage of those who dare to start anew. Portrait of a Certain East is an intimate look at uprooting, the complexity of cultural coexistence, and the persistence of desire as a driving force of life amid adversity.