The Crime in "Little Wars" and "Very Big Shot": A Microcosm of a Lost Generation

Abstract

Since the 1970s, Lebanese cinema has developed alongside the country’s changing political and social landscape, with crime narratives reflecting these shifts. During the Civil War (1975-1990), filmmakers like Maroun Baghdadi used crime to highlight the chaos and moral complexity of the time, as seen in Little Wars (1982). Several years later, crime stories reappeared in Lebanese cinema, combining genre conventions with themes of social struggle. By the 2010s, films like Very Big Shot (2015) by Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya redefined crime cinema through dark humor and social critique, reflecting Lebanon’s ongoing instability. This article examines the development of crime narratives in Lebanese cinema, using both films as a case study to analyze how crime functions both as a narrative device and as a reflection of historical and political changes. Through a comparative study of Little Wars and Very Big Shot, this paper explores the thematic and stylistic shifts that suggest the emergence of a distinct Lebanese crime cinema, blending genre elements with social commentary on Lebanon’s complex realities.