Roots, long lost, are found; family, separated by civil strife, is reunited; a man learns to trust by facing his worst memories.
Yesterday went with Yesterday is about discovering one's past and future. Hamid (Mazin Saba) keeps vigil at his father's deathbed, listening to his father's fractured memories of the time when he was the head of a militia during the Lebanese Civil War, before escaping with his family to Canada. Hamid promises his father to go back to Lebanon to relive the happy memories they once had and to meet the family that he has lost touch with since he left Lebanon thirty-five years ago. But most importantly, Hamid's father wants Hamid to take his soul and to join it with his son Ramzi who was kidnapped and killed by an opposing militia as an act of revenge. Ramzi was only nine years old.
The film's story revolves around an incident that took place in Issam's village during the Lebanese civil war. It left an emotional scar on the people there, including the actors who recreated the event. The war's twenty-year horror reached well beyond the village to the millions of Lebanese living in the diaspora. Yesterday went with Yesterday returns a man to this homeland he barely knew, and to the family and culture he has avoided. He rediscovers lost roots as he learns the truth about his father's past.
The performances in Yesterday went with Yesterday have a unique sense of realism. The cast is made up of the director's family and other villagers who experienced the cruelty of the Civil War. The filmmaker also used locals to help behind the scenes, giving the film a true local flavor. The pivotal scene in the film is based on a true incident.
Yesterday went with Yesterday is Issam's latest feature. He shot the film exclusively in Lebanon, in and around the village where he grew up. Each frame of the story represents his long-contemplated thoughts and passion for the resiliency of the Lebanese people, and the unresolved legacy of his homeland's recent past.
