Using only two actors and employing refugees, soldiers and journalists to play themselves, director Philippe Aractingi captures the devastation, heartache and resilience of people caught in the crossfire.

Fallen bridges, gaping crates, demolished houses, and real survivor testimony are a stark reminder of the precision-bombing myth.

Less successful is Aractingi’s handling of his lead characters’ relationship.

The Shiite Zeina (Farhat) journeys to South Lebanon to discover the fate of her son, left with her sister to spare him the sight of his parents’ messy divorce. She employs the Christian cabbie Tony (Khabbaz) on a retainer to drive her through the war zone.

As the scale of the destruction and despair increases and the uneasy ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel collapses, Tony yearns for closer contact with the distraught Zeina.

Opening with stark news footage of Israel’s strikes against South Lebanon, Under the Bombs resists dead body and injury ghoulishness without sacrificing the tragic scale of the disaster.

And while the Israeli government and the Israeli Defence Force come in for a kicking, a non-judgemental script takes equal opportunities strikes against the antagonistic Hezbollah and an ineffectual UN.

Shame then that too much time is dedicated to Tony’s class crisis affection for the well-heeled Zeina, and an underdeveloped romantic subplot with a hotel receptionist.

But, Under the Bombs is worth catching for its sobering images and tales of survival.

Rob Daniel