Sirens Review: Poignant, Thoughtful Documentary About Lebanese Metal Band [Sundance]
Metal music may not be to everyone’s liking, but Slave to Sirens, an all-woman Lebanese metal band might make one think differently about it. The band is so passionate about their music and Sirens, the documentary directed by Rita Baghdadi, hones in on how they use it to express themselves in a politically and economically unstable country. Slave to Sirens is a five-member band, but the documentary focuses on its two founders, Lilas Mayassi and Shery Bechara. Thought-provoking, beautifully edited and told, Sirens explores the band members’ relationship with each other, gender, and conformity in a society that isn’t always open about such things.
The film starts off focusing on the band’s music and their trip to a music festival in the UK. It isn’t long before Baghdadi shifts to center Lilas and Shery, who work incredibly well together as music partners. As the story unfolds, the pair’s history is revealed: Lilas and Shery are childhood friends who were also romantically involved. As Lilas began to become interested in other women, the two started growing apart. Lilas likes women, but she’s also uncomfortable being open about it to her mother and others. Her relationship with her mother is strained, with the latter expecting Lilas to only move out when she finds someone to marry. Baghdadi captures Lilas' turmoil, her affecting commentary, and the joy of performing especially well.
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Sirens is poignant and thoughtful in the way it explores Lilas and Shery’s experiences. Their lives are colored by Lebanon’s instabilities — citizens march during the 2019 revolution to protest the government and its corruption, the 2020 Beirut bombing,
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