Rita Baghdadi’s documentary “Sirens” about Slaves to Sirens, an all-female metal group from Beirut, Lebanon, kicks off 2019 with the band united happily. Performed at the Glastonbury Festival in England. And while they end up playing to a handful of people, the band goes all out.
Slaves to Sirens is five-piece, and its neon-haired singer, Maya Khairallah, nails the monster voice so common in modern metal. But the focus of the film is on the band’s two guitarists and principal composers, Shelly Bechara and Lilas Mayassi. Baghdadi (“My Country No More) shows how difficult it is to assert one’s identity in an oppressive environment.
When the band returns to their hometown of Beirut, it’s an environment of constant turmoil and, if you’re aware of it, almost unacceptable, creating tension.
No one in the band is getting younger. Lilas still lives with her mother. When her Syrian girlfriend comes to visit to hide the true nature of her relationship, she has to enact a childish ruse. was once romantically involved and is probably still hurt), quit.
With little other choice, Lyrus and Sherry find a way to get back at each other, at least creatively. The ending, in which the reunited sirens perform in front of an enthusiastic crowd, is heart-wrenching and evocative even for non-metal heads.
siren
Unrated. Arabic and English with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 19 minutes. at the theater.