A poetic and political manifesto, the Israeli cinematographer Avi Mograbi’s latest film borrows its title from a song sung by the yesteryear’s Lebanese artist Asmahan. "Once I entered a garden" depicts an ancient Middle-East, one in which communities were not separated by ethnic and religious barriers and could coexist effortlessly, travelling between Alexandria, Beyrouth, Damas and Tel-Aviv... A Middle-East in which even the metaphorical barriers didn’t have a place.
As usual, Mograbi builds on the storyline as and when he films… and deviates from his initial plan. In the beginning, the film was to be called "Return to Beyrouth", retracing the life of his uncle Marcel who could not stand borders. But very quickly, he gets attached to Ali Al-Azhari, his Palestinian friend from Israel who taught him Arab and who helped him in his research. Together, the two men undertake a journey into their respective pasts, in a time machine that they built together as friends.
Weaving together love, compassion and melancholy, "Once I entered a garden" is a sensitive film about displacement and the difficulty of living in a divided society. A positive film which turns to a bygone Middle-East in order to find the courage to imagine a calmer present.
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