'Furies' Review: A Fiery Tale of the Bonds Between Sisters [TIFF 2026]
Furies is a firecracker of a film filled with heart, tension, humour, and layers upon layers of societal trauma. It promises a ride that will have you feeling things from tense-unease to laughter and cheer.
Set amidst the backdrop of the ongoing economic crisis in Lebanon, two sisters struggle with the hard fact that they need to come up with the cash to pay for a life or death surgery. Due to a complete freeze and an apparent liquidity shortage, the banks won't give them their savings. Couple this with the fact that they can barely earn enough through their day jobs, it’s clear: the clock is ticking.
Furies premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on September 4th and followed that up with its North American premiere at TIFF this past week. From first time filmmaker Rami Kodeih, the George Clooney executive produced film is one that entered the festival circuit under the radar. Packed with intensity, stakes, and a strong emotional heartbeat, Furies is a film that leaves the festival circuit as one that is just ripe and ready to soar.
At the heart of the narrative are sisters Dalia (Maria Nakouzi) and Maro (Rym Mroue). The older and more traditionally responsible sister, Maro, is a recently divorced mom whose down on her luck life is offered weekly glimmers of hope by the visits she gets from her happy go lucky, snappy son. Her sister Dalia, who despite living a more carefree lifestyle, is secretly struggling with a recent diagnosis of cancer. She has been given a year at most by doctors, unless she is able to pay for a surgery which has proven to be the key to her survival. Her sister, Maro, of course is insistent on doing whatever it takes to save her sister's life, but Dalia, still living in a form of denial, coupled with the hopelessness of the crumbling situation around them, is content with living on like nothing is wrong.
The themes of Furies are not brand new, and the plot points are certainly familiar, but there is a draw here and writer-director Rami Kodeih brings the streets of Beirut to life with a rich multilayered portrayal of the social unrest that is in the now, and that still haunts the streets decades later. Through its supporting characters, Furies touches upon the civil war in the late 1970s and ensuing eras of unrest in the decades that followed. You get a strong sense of the apparent normal that is lived here, and the way these characters just grapple with every day pain and trauma.
Despite the dire circumstances that many face, there is a level of understanding in the neighborhood and closer community between the people who frequent each others lives. An elderly man named Sunshine, whose troubled past as part of a Christian militia in the 1970s brings a perspective to the film that opens up the world for the viewer and the characters within.
While the crowning achievement of this film is clearly the two lead sisters, writer-director Rami Kodeih must be commended for balancing such dramatic tribulations with laughs and that naturalistic yet still showy style comedy that works only in film. There is a lot of fun to be had within this film, and while it can usually be attributed to the banter between the sisters, this humor does do some heavy lifting in giving this film further depths for its characters.
With the lifeblood of this film being the sisters, the two leads cannot be praised enough for their explosive chemistry in this. Despite its subject matter, the film is wildly funny, and that comes from the natural way in which Nakouzi and Mroue play off each other. Their characters go through a lot in this film, and they are pushed to desperate ends. Much of their journey relies on the community that surrounds them (like Sunshine, among others). There are moments in this film when it feels like these sisters have their backs against the wall, and it's in these moments that the film offers its most intense moments. While some of it may feel over the top, or excessively rousing, this film had made it clear all along that it was never going for a hyper realistic and dreary edge. Kodeih paints these characters as larger than life, and that contrasted with the very grounded and real world struggles these characters are facing head on, is where the blend of this film is tested and passes with ease. It is undeniably an exciting film and can be best described as a dramatic thriller in a way, and that excitement comes directly from this film not being afraid of staying true to its own blueprint.
While this film is only days old in its cinematic journey, it might have an interesting road towards release as it is yet to find distribution. With some festival praise both at TIFF and in Venice last week, it should only be a matter of time before Furies finds a buyer and garners distribution. The film is too good to sit for too long.
First time feature film writer-director Rami Kodeih hit the ball out of the park with this one. Furies promises to be a ride that is at its core a story with a loud thumping heartbeat that is sure to win viewers over. It has charm, and thanks to strong performances from its two leads, Furies shines brightest when its focus is on two sisters who love each other amidst a society that is in utter peril.