War-torn cities infested with rival factions have always been popular locations for movie-makers, and Beirut in the late 1980s was an obvious candidate. Taking advantage of its setting, this is quite a good little movie, full of the sense of imminent danger that must have the words 'Don't shoot! ' leaping into the mouths of foreign journalists at the appearance of anything that looks like a uniform. Christopher Walken contributes a thoughtful performance as the opportunistic American journalist dragged from the fireside comfort of 'reporting' with the help of old cassettes to a real-life interview with a Palestinian leader who wants to advocate diplomacy instead of violence. Or, is he being made a gullible dupe? In the end Walken's Stevens, forced by circumstance to become a real reporter, is as bewildered as he is involved. As an English reporter (Hywel Bennett) tells him: 'Here you don't kill who you want. You kill who you can'.


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