Lebanese director Randa Chahal Sabbag spins this bleak war drama about the brutal absurdity of the urban warfare of Beirut during the 1980s. Opening with the shocking image of kittens being blown apart, the film loosely follows the travails of Bernadette (Nada Ghosn), a naïve country girl sent to the city as a maid for a mansion long since abandoned by the owners. There she meets Therese (Renee Dick), a veteran house cleaner who takes her under her wing. One day, while accompanying her friend to the cemetery, she meets a rakish Arab militiaman, and the two fall in love.

Beyrouth. Ce n'est plus vraiment la guerre, mais c'est encore la guerre. Le sort des hommes ne vaut guère mieux que celui des chats. Les "humanitaires" de "Médecins sans frontières" sont traqués par de jeunes musulmans. Dans un immeuble jadis cossu, deux bonnes skri-lankaises qui attendent le retour de leur patronne, la mondaine et inconsciente Viviane, insultent vertement Souad et Najat, qui ont réuni leurs solitudes, et s'aiment.