Reviews

Forbidden Lie$

Kris Rothstein

Forbidden Lie$ tells the story of Norma Khouri, who shot to fame when her book, Forbidden Love, became a bestseller. The book claimed to tell the story of Khouri’s best friend, who was murdered by her own family because she dated a man of a different religion. Readers and members of the media around the world joined a campaign against the practice of honour killings in Jordan and other countries. The only problem was that Khouri’s book was a fake—a fact that came to light after a few Jordanian journalists pointed out numerous factual errors in the story. Anna Broinowski, the filmmaker, approached Khouri to set the record straight. What follows in the film is a bizarre series of mind games, misinformation and manipulation. Khouri is uncovered as an American with an Australian husband; both are con artists wanted by the FBI. Despite the hard evidence provided by Broinowski, Khouri has an answer and an excuse for every accusation, justifying every lie as a necessity and claiming that her life is under threat. Filmmaker and subject finally travel to Jordan, the site of the story Khouri told in her book, for a fascinating personal battle to separate truth from lies.

Tags
No items found.

SUGGESTIONS FOR YOU

Dispatches
Sara Graefe

My Summer Behind the Iron Curtain

No Skylab buzz in East Germany.

Essays
Minelle Mahtani

Looking for a Place to Happen

What does it mean to love a band? A friend? A nation?

Reviews
Anson Ching

Sailing the roaring forties

Review of "The Last Grain Race" by Eric Newby.