Review of: A War Film disguised as a Slice-of-life Comedy

The following section talks about how the Middle East is represented in Hollywood blockbusters and war films. A TL;DR is provided at the end of the section for easier viewing that I highly recommend reading through for context!

The Role of Middle East in the History of War Films

In Orientalism (1978), a book written by Edward Said, a Palestinian-American academic, literary critic and political activist, he coined how Western societies frequently portray “the East” as a singular, inferior and inherently violent civilization, creating a system that reproduces the thought of them as different from the rest of society. And through biased framing and media representation, interpreting the West as morally superior, rational, and modern.

In Hollywood blockbusters like American Sniper, The Hurt Locker, etc, the only characters we as the audience were allowed to sympathize and root for were always those with pale skin that burnt too easily under the sun, and eyes that shone bright blue amidst explosions. Any other characters were people to be saved, threats to be dealt with, and hostile environments the “hero” goes through. Even in Hollywood’s most critical and self-disparaging films, the ones allowed for moral crises, tragedies, and questions towards ceaseless violence were the same, Western soldiers.

This formula of these war films frequently shares the narrative of “Us VS Them”, the “heroic” Western forces and the “dangerous” Middle Eastern adversaries that helps the audience choose how to favor. We’re given the personal stories, wishes, dreams, and futures of American soldiers, while the Middle Eastern soldiers and civilians are denied accurate depictions of their own histories, experiences, and perspectives. This also creates the assumption that the Middle East is riddled with war and instability.

This dehumanization of an entire civilization simplifies the real, complex, and still on-going political conflicts happening around the world into an easy, digestible, “hero story” while justifying aggressive military intervention and stating heroic intentions while intentionally shrouding the true causes of conflict and real-life consequences sprouted because of it.

The subversion of these themes in particular are what makes Once Upon a Time in the Middle East one of its kind, as sad as it is to say. Though hopefully, its success signify the rise of new movies filled with as much soul and intent as it.

TL;DR:

1. According to Orientalism (1978), the Middle East is often depicted as a singular, inferior region, overlooking the differences between cultures, languages, religions, etc in countries like Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, etc, creating inaccurate assumptions that all Middle Eastern societies are the same.

2. Hollywood blockbusters are prone to portraying Western soldiers as morally superior, giving them the role of main characters in war films like American Sniper and The Hurt Locker, alongside the chance to receive the audience’s sympathy and pity.

3. Middle Eastern soldiers and civilians are portrayed as hostile backgrounds, threats to be resolved, passive onlookers to their own history, and people to be “saved” by the Western forces.

4. Even at its most self-critical, Middle East soldiers and civilians are denied humane representations, but instead as driving forces behind the main character’s questions and hesitation towards ceaseless violence.

5. The formula of these films succeeds in masking complicated on-going political conflicts and aggressive military interventions as “heroic deeds’, making people root for them unsuspectingly.

6. Once Upon a Time in the Middle East doesn’t do any of this, making it one of its kind, and the subject of this article.

The Journey of Xu Fu

Before proceeding any further, please take note that the article from now on will contain heavy spoilers for the film “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East”. It’s highly recommended that you watch the film for yourself first before reading the review!

The Chef from China: A Misleading Start

The movie starts with an elaborate display of cooking skills by Xu Fu cooking lunch for his family. Its atmosphere is domestic and warm, until it’s revealed that Xu Fu is actually cooking a farewell lunch to his family before he leaves. Where to? A fictional Middle Eastern city that allows him to earn quick bucks for both his debt repayment and support for his family.

There, he first meets Jun Sheng, the senior manager of Loong Restaurant, who works hard so he gets to marry the girl he loves. He also meets Zaid, the owner of Loong Restaurant, where he’ll be working at. They start off on the wrong foot when Zaid suggests Xu Fu change the way he cooks to better suit the tastes of locals. Xu Fu adamantly refuses to, and lashes back at Zaid, which somehow leads to Zaid taking a liking to him instead.

We see glimpses of Xu Fu’s life at Loong Restaurant buzzling with business, deepening his bond with Jun Sheng, and getting to meet the girl he’s in love with. She happens to be a teacher at a nearby orphanage where he gets to meet Seif through, alongside other orphans who’ve developed an aptitude for stealing, especially from Loong Restaurant. Xu Fu and Seif despise each other at first, and at this point in time, it’s built up to be the only conflict established in the story, which is heartwarming to watch.

The Loss, and Recovery of Everyday Life

A missile attack in the dead of night, the true conflict happens. The sounds of fire and explosives sound faraway at first, almost like fireworks that drowsily woke up Xu Fu, who hasn’t yet realized the urgency. Then, it explodes right outside of their building, the sound is deafening, and the windows shatter at the force, sending both Xu Fu and Jun Sheng crashing into the floor. They’re both wide awake now, scrambling to run and find protection.

But there’s no protection, at least none nearby. The staircases leading down to the exit are filled with screams, dread, and panic, people stepping and crawling over one other to get to safety. Xu Fu seemed to be in a daze, unaccepting of this reality. The explosions don’t stop, but there’s nothing beautiful to marvel at when bodies and blood stain the ground around him. Xu Fu follows Jun Sheng to find his fiance, alongside the children from the orphanage, and they bunker down inside a tunnel.

Even with hundreds of families stationed in one place, it is unnervingly silent except for the cries of frightened children shouting for their wounded family members. Xu Fu’s everyday life in the city has completely turned over. Yet, when he makes eye contact with Seif, it still feels like an existing conflict worse than his current dilemma. Instead of portraying a hopeless end to everyday life, it ends on a surprisingly domestic and hopeful moment.

Everyday life makes a possible recovery when Loong Restaurant is reestablished for government use due to Zaid’s position as a civil servant. Xu Fu convinces Zaid to become co-owners, and his conflict with Seif takes a turn when he realizes Seif’s talent in cooking, and appoints him as his apprentice. As time passes by, Loong Restaurant finally returns to its former glory, and things look to be back on track.

One night, a new character is introduced as Tony, who was an American soldier from Malaysia, and opened doors for Xu Fu to start selling alcohol to soldiers as a new business opportunity when he and his comrades paid everything they had just for a bottle of wine.

As expected, the business blooms. And Xu Fu has earned more than enough to pay back all of his debt. Yet, he chose to stay a little longer because of greed.

Temporary peace is found whenever Loong Restaurant opens its doors, and it seemed it would last forever. Until, we cut to Zaid’s family. It’s not framed as the calm before the storm, just a domestic chat with his wife and sick daughter (whom he had previously sacrificed many things for). You don’t really know what’s about to transpire until a bomb is thrown through the bedroom window.

After the attack, Zaid becomes the only survivor. Xu Fu, Jun Sheng, and Seif visit him in mourning and try to help, but it seems redundant as Zaid disappears soon after that day.

Prison Arc

Not long after, Xu Fu and Jun Sheng are ambushed by American soldiers and arrested for possible collusion with a terrorist who harmed and killed many soldiers, among them including Tony. This terrorist is revealed to be Zaid, and unable to prove their innocence in a short amount of time, Xu Fu and Jun Sheng, alongside Seif who refused to let them be taken away without a fight, are thrown into prison.

Here, they meet a tortured prisoner Ali, the headmaster of a “soldier academy”, who is being tortured (water cured) with chili water. Witnessing this, Xu Fu briefly helped him by changing the chili water out to beetroot soup, letting Ali negate the worst of torture.

Seif makes a new friend who convinces him to resort to violence and fight back in order to avoid becoming cannon fodder. Together, they pull a painful prank on Ali’s torturer that leads to Xu Fu being misunderstood as the perpetrator and targeted by the American soldier’s abuse. Trying to stop the soldier’s violence on Xu Fu, Seif almost kills the soldier, which becomes the start of his internal battle. Should he submit to violence, become strong and lash back at his country’s abusers, or protect his future as a dignified chef?

Xu Fu and Jun Sheng try their best to shield him from Ali and his accomplices, who remain persistent in their coercion for Seif to join their “academy”.

A few months after their imprisonment, they are proven innocent. However, due to an officer’s power play, their release is delayed, demanding them to cook the officers a Christmas dinner before being allowed to leave. A gathering of this calibre wouldn’t go smoothly, of course, as on the day of the party, Ali’s accomplices break into the prison explosively. They rescue Ali and kidnap Xu Fu, Jun Sheng, and Seif, transporting them into their “soldier academy” to work as cooks.

Child Soldier “Academy”

In truth, the “soldier academy” was more of a camp to train up cannon fodders through manipulation and gaslighting, where orphaned children are brainwashed into thinking they are training to fight for the betterment of their country.

In the camp, Seif faces physical and verbal assault from other children as they perceive him as “weaker” than them due to his inaction as a “soldier”. The incessant bullying leaves Seif thinking it would be better to resort to violence in order to prove himself to be “strong”, a mindset that reaches its breakthrough when Seif attempts and almost succeeds in volunteering himself to shoot and kill Ali’s torturer.

Even while other children hesitate at the thought of murder, Seif loses his moral battle to the desire of becoming “stronger” after being subjected to violence and seeing no other way to get out of it.

However, this train of thought ends abruptly when Seif secretly follows his friend, Jamal, to his “first mission”. There, he sees the same guy who swore not to be cannon fodder unknowingly become exactly that. Jamal is sacrificed as a child suicide bomber, carrying a school bag with bombs instead of studying materials.

After finding out the truth behind the camp, Jun Sheng and Seif want to save the children from the upcoming conflict they’ll be sacrificed for. But, having already secured their escape route and knowing there isn’t enough time to save them all, Xu Fu refuses.

Jun Sheng finds it hard to overcome his moral battle, and as desperation strikes, makes a selfless effort to delay the children’s departure, intentionally putting spoiled potatoes into their meals and causing mass food poisoning. He succeeds in giving the children a chance to escape, but Ali is enraged, and kills him without hesitation.

My personal breaking point in this movie lies in Jun Sheng’s abrupt, selfless death. He was someone willing to leave behind every promise and unfulfilled wish, just to save a group of children’s lives. Xu Fu’s delayed reaction and grief was so profoundly interpreted I felt my heart physically drop at the dread of being so close to getting out together, but now unable to.

Even while overcome with anguish, Xu Fu and Seif do not allow Jun Sheng’s sacrifice to go to waste, taking the chance to gather the children willing to escape with them, and leaving to cross over the border that helps them get out of the battle-ridden country.

The End, but also Beginning

They don’t end up escaping, and Ali’s men reach way further than Xu Fu could’ve ever imagined, Zaid catches up to them. Right before Zaid shoots Xu Fu, he tells him to “open your mouth”, identical to what Xu Fu said to him after his family’s death.

Xu Fu survives because of it, and finally gets to go home after months overdue. He doesn’t know what happens to Seif, or the children, certain in his mind that they would’ve already been sacrificed, and that his efforts lead to nothing. He’s overcome with guilt, unable to step out of the shadows of the city.

Still, and despite it all, Xu Fu finds a way to soothe the guilt. 20 years later, Xu Fu returns to the city on a short tourist trip.

A Loong Restaurant label catches his eye, and he runs off the bus hurriedly. Inside, the restaurant seems almost a recreation of the previous Loong Restaurant, but it is not until Xu Fu opens the menu does he realize why exactly was the resemblance so strikingly accurate. The final dish he cooked for Seif, now renamed in his own name and displayed on the menu, framed in honour of him. Through the waiter, he finds out Seif and the children never made it back to the camp, stopped by patrolling soldiers midway, and was rescued.

In the kitchen, he sees a familiar back and smiles brightly. Seif ends up becoming the chef Xu Fu envisions him to be, alive, and on the right path for the rest of his life.

What was done RIGHT.

Unfortunately, many nuances and details in the movie couldn’t be fully translated or felt through text. Still, I felt the need to pinpoint a few themes that I felt were discussed and addressed really well throughout the film.

The term “born terrorists”:

In the film, multiple characters have said lines directed towards Middle Eastern children that more and less meant the same thing. “They’re born terrorists,” thrown around as if it’s a fact.

Tony’s speech toward Xu Fu says roughly the same thing, as he talks about a 5-year old child holding a gun and shooting his friend dead. He’s terrified of them, acting incredibly hostile towards Seif particularly on many occasions. To that, Xu Fu says, “They are children.”

Ali, the terrorist brainwashing children into becoming cannon fodders, stating there is nothing other than violence for those in the Middle East. He tells Xu Fu that he cannot change who Seif truly is, and that Seif is a soldier meant to fight for his country. Here, Xu Fu replies angrily. “He is not a terrorist, he is a chef.”

TL;DR:

Once Upon a Time in the Middle East knows exactly what discourse it is going into:

directly opposing the dehumanization of the term “born terrorists”
deliberately unraveling the century-old framing that has harmed many throughout
making you question the normalization of such phrases being thrown around towards other human beings, and especially towards children

Depiction of disruptions in daily lives shown during war:

The Chinese name for “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East” is actually “Welcome to Loong Restaurant”, and the central message this movie aims to express is “Eat Well, Live Well”. It means sincere wishes towards the other to live a peaceful, comfortable life that allows them to eat every meal well. It’s also the goal every main character strives toward after the war begun in the Middle East: to go home, eat well, and live well.

The film does a great job setting a relaxed, almost domestic atmosphere before completely disrupting it, loudly, and disconcertingly. In one instance, Xu Fu goes for a smoke after cleaning up for the Christmas dinner, on the balcony, he witnesses prison guards playing guards and joking around. The next second, their voices are cut out with an explosion, then all you hear are frightened screams, and people running from death.

It isn’t Xu Fu’s first nor second time witnessing brutal explosions taking people’s lives, yet he is just as panicked, terrified, and still scrambling to run to a safer place alongside Jun Sheng and Seif, like every time before. Still dazed, still confused, and still scared.

TL;DR:

This is what even anti- war films fail to portray more often than not, the perspective of civilians caught in the crossfire
The dread, the anxiety, and the grueling losses that civilians go through every single day is impossible to ignore in this film, it’s the film’s entire perspective
Truthfully, how is it possible to live like this, constantly dreading the next explosion, and wondering what else it will take from you when it hits?

Humanity afforded to everyone:

A video linked in references and cited in this section does a phenomenal job at covering the way this film affords humanity to everyone instead of dividing them into black and white factions. Since I believe I would not be able to do this film justice through my explanations, I highly recommend you watch “The Chinese blockbuster that Destroys Hollywood’s Middle East Narrative” by Wave Media as well.

Hollywood blockbusters, even at its best efforts to appear morally ambiguous, still only achieve shallow results by solely allowing Western main characters the complexity and introspectiveness needed for development in character. Once Upon a Time in the Middle East ignores that rule entirely, more satisfied in portraying characters as they are, instead of trying to mould how the audience would feel about said characters.

Tony, an American soldier part of the invasion to the country, who you start by hating due to his unfounded hostility toward the Middle East, but also a soldier far from home that cries for his mother. The film lets you see Tony in his entirety, then lets him die in the cycle of violence he’s a part of.

Zaid, the family man who is also a mid-level official and owner of Loong Restaurant, loses everything he loves overnight and becomes the exact thing he swore to defend people against. The film doesn’t condemn nor excuse his behaviour, and you watch a human so full of love be completely unravelled by grief. You understand, but it is uncomfortable to watch nonetheless.

Ali, the extremist headmaster who is introduced to us as the prisoner tortured using chili water, who Xu Fu felt sorry for and secretly changed out the broth for. This mercy for Ali is proven undeserved when we realize just how vile he truly is. Still, it’s a mercy he receives, because it isn’t Ali’s kindness or good will that saves him from the worst of torture, it’s Xu Fu’s compassion and sympathy that does it.

The film doesn’t create set rules that say victims can’t be perpetrators at the same time, these characters are not created with a personality tag nor characteristics, they feel genuine because of contradictions and in spite of them. Ali’s torturer himself is also afforded the same empathy other victims receive when he’s shot and killed by a child soldier. It doesn’t become a triumphant moment of euphoria nor revenge well served, even us, the audience, finds it hard to feel anything other than pity.

TL;DR:

The characters in the film feel genuine because the characters aren’t defined by “characteristics”, they are made up of contradictions, mistakes, and actions made because and in spite of that
There is no “good” or “bad” ending for the so-called victims or perpetrators, their stories are presented to us the way it is without trying to mould the audience’s perspectives

Destruction without romanticization:

TL;DR:

Hollywood war films, and even anti-war films have a secret thing in common, its perverted display of power and destruction
There’s slow motion running scenes from big, disastrous explosions, lingered shots on guns and tanks wreaking havoc, theatrical and dramatic sound effects all to accompany a beautiful shot of power
The film refuses to portray this destruction with anything other than pure dread
The explosions that bring about death and violence are not beautiful

Saving A Future: Seif (im gonna be honest this entire section sounds like doo doo to me)

Although the film centers around Xu Fu’s journey, I believe the true protagonist to actually be Seif, who is the character constantly standing at crossroads throughout, and whose choices we as the audience recognize the significance of.

Seif’s Crossroads

When you grow up with consistent and unrelenting violence, achieving violence itself becomes the ideal. This is because you know nothing other than violence, violence, and greater violence. When a child grows up this way, it’s hard for them to think of any other paths to walk down other than the path of violence, creating a cycle of abuse.

But, Seif does not grow up that way. He’s brought up in an orphanage where Jun Sheng’s fiance teaches at, where every child is cared for, and educated. He meets Jun Sheng and Xu Fu, who show him paths other than violence, the path of becoming a chef.

In the film, Seif mainly follows the path shown to him by Xu Fu, a dignified future as a chef. However, due to various circumstances, he is always lured back onto the crossroads, influenced by the people around him.

Who becomes his savior?

This video by Wave Media expresses it best, Seif is not portrayed as a character to be rescued for the completion of a character arc, or as a symbol of “good among evil”. He is, quoting the video, to the Americans, a born terrorist; to extremists like Ali, a cannon fodder and future martyr; and to Xu Fu, a kid full of potential to become a cook.

Throughout Seif’s journey, when he chooses to walk the crossroad guided by Xu Fu, he is constantly pushed back by influences like Jamal, Ali, and the child soldiers banding together to bully him. They make Seif believe the path he walks on is the incorrect path taken only by weaklings, who will become cannon fodder on the battlefield.

When Seif chooses to walk the crossroad influenced by Ali and Jamal, Xu Fu and Jun Sheng become the obstacles in his path instead. A scene that I remember clearly in reflection is when Xu Fu and Jun Sheng tried to stop Seif from volunteering to murder. Yet, even when they bodily pushed against Seif, it was useless. In Xu Fu and Jun Sheng’s eyes, they’re “saving” Seif from a depressing, self-destructive path, to which Seif does not agree with. They are unable to “save” someone who does not want to be saved.

Only after finding out the truth does Seif allow himself to be “saved”, pulling himself back from the path of destruction, trying to help other children to escape as well. The film’s central question is mainly on what crossroad Seif chooses to walk down, instead of who becomes the “savior” of his story.

A Warning for War

Once Upon a Time in the Middle East is, at its core, an anti-war film. So, it felt fitting to discuss what it succeeds in raising awareness for through Xu Fu’s journey.

The elements of war depicted in this movie are terrifying, but even more devastating when viewed from a civilian’s perspective, helpless to stop nor escape from the violence around them. Explosions are ugly, taking lives as easily as they are lit. There’s chaos, panic, anxiety, then fear and confusion, before silence takes over and you sit uncomfortably, knowing this is the reality behind every war.

It’s easy to emotionally detach yourself from the number of people’s lives lost when only seen through statistics on a screen, or through numbers displayed on papers. But, now that we have no choice other than to become involved and attach ourselves to characters that lose their lives, it feels more devastating. We know their regrets, wishes, and dreams, all buried beneath the ash of violence.

Now, imagine what was displayed on screen still happening around the world, in numerous countries like Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Myanmar, Iran, Congo, and so many more, millions are still unable to live freely without fearing for their lives.

TL;DR:

It may be easy to think the world is now at peace and no longer engaged in wars, but it is furthest from the truth
Approximately 60 countries are currently involved in 130 active armed conflicts worldwide, taking thousands and millions of lives each year
None of us are free until all of us are

The Answers I’m Looking For (and what you should look for too!)

After reading through this review, I would hope the questions you raised are the same as mine: How can I help?

Here are some official and humanitarian platforms worth exploring and providing support to:

Click to help any and all causes daily to provide aid toward Palestine, Children, Poverty, Refugees, Women and Environment

An official website launched by the Ukrainian government to raise funds for medical aid, humanitarian relief, and rebuild destroyed infrastructure. You are free to decide where your money goes.