Gaza. Even as the streets can turn into a war zone in minutes, a hair salon plays host to its clients: the owner and her employee, who is tormented by her lovers; a girl who is about to marry; a woman who is preparing for a romantic date; a pregnant woman; a very religious woman accompanied her smartass friend. The temperature rises, discussions heat up, and gradually the day takes an unexpected turn...

Picture gallery

Based on a news story: in 2007, a Hamas government military unit intervened against an armed family in Gaza, who had stolen a lion to assert their power in the streets. The subsequent bloodbath illustrated the appalling and absurd dimensions of the situation, adapted here as tragicomedy by the Nasser brothers, who are as patriotic as they are prepared to protest. Presented at the Critics' Week at Cannes, Dégradé echoes Nadine Labaki’s beautiful Caramel, thanks to its décor of course, but above all its finesse and humor, and the movie’s desire to project the violence and injustice of a country in the eyes of its women. Because it uses humor and apparent lightness, its also speaks with intelligence and skill of a damaged country. Dégradé is a remarkable work, thanks also to the performances of its great actresses.