`WEST BEIRUT' HAS ITS MOMENTS, BUT DARK STORY MISSES THE MARK.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

Lebanon isn't known for its thriving filmmaking community, so when first-time filmmaker Ziad Doueiri returned to his home country to make ``West Beirut,'' he had to scramble to find child actors for his movie. Ultimately, Doueiri cast his charismatic younger brother, Rami, in the lead role, and it is Rami's presence that makes this uneven movie an occasionally diverting pleasure.

Rami plays Tarek, a quick-witted adolescent boy who roams the streets of war-torn Beirut in search of adventure. It's 1975, and the city has been divided along religious lines with the Christians controlling East Beirut and the newly formed Muslim militia running the western part. Tarek lives in the west with his friends Omar (Mohamad Chamas) and May (Rola Al Amin).

At first, the teens embrace the war. Schools close, parents are preoccupied, and the bombings provide more thrills than chills. Tarek and Omar indulge their passion for making Super 8 movies, and the beautiful May provides some heavenly distractions, even if she is a Christian. (She must hide her crucifix necklace from Omar, who calls her the Virgin Mary.)

Doueiri, best-known for his camera work on Quentin Tarantino's films, wrote and directed ``West Beirut,'' basing much of the movie on his own childhood memories. The film works best in its first hour, achieving a rollicking lyricism as the kids find the beauty in the emerging chaos.

But as the war drags on, the movie loses its way. Doueiri successfully imbues the movie's first half with a sense of foreboding doom, but he doesn't build on that simmering intensity. Scenes with Tarek's worried parents grow repetitive and a supposed epiphany that occurs at a bordello falls flat.

More importantly, the film's young actors - all non-professionals - flounder when the movie shifts abruptly from comedy to tragedy. Blame their inexperience and Doueiri's script, which needed a third-act tune-up.

It's a shame, because ``West Beirut'' has many fine moments. A beautifully filmed sequence in which Tarek and Omar stroll the streets of Beirut to the strains of George McCrae's ``Rock Your Baby'' shows that Doueiri has been paying attention while working with Tarantino. Now he just needs to find a more cohesive story to tell.

THE FACTS

The film: ``West Beirut'' (not rated; language, scenes of violence).

The stars: Rami Doueiri, Mohamad Chamas, Rola Al Amin.

Behind the scenes: Written and directed by Ziad Doueiri. Released by Cowboy Booking International.

Running time: One hour, 45 minutes.

Playing: Laemmle's Music Hall in Los Angeles, Laemmle's Colorado in Pasadena.

Our rating: Two stars.

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Photo

Photo: Mohamad Chamas plays Omar and Rola Al Amin portrays May in ``West Beirut,'' a film about growing up in war-torn Lebanon in 1975.