Ajami is an Israeli film that was nominated for Best Foreign Language film in this year's Oscars. It tells a few stories of people in a multi-religious slum in Tel Aviv. There is a part about a poor Muslim family who has to pay a debt to a Muslim organized crime element, a Christian family whose daughter wants to marry a man outside of the faith and a Jewish soldier who went missing while on a military mission. The stories are all intertwined, sometimes a bit too cutely, and the structure jumps back and forth between these stories and others as well.
Much of the press surrounding the film has dealt with the interesting production, which was co-directed by a Jewish (Yaron Shani) and Palestinian (Scandar Copti) duo. The actors are mostly amateurs with no experience and it was shot mostly in the places where it takes place (The title of the film comes from a neighborhood in Tel Aviv-Jaffa).
I was not thrilled with this film as I felt it was just too much stuff - too confusing, unfocused and less powerful than it could have been with a more specific story. We never spend enough time with any one character or story for long enough to align with anyone. It jumps so much that we lose interest in each part as it moves along.
There are certainly interesting moments in the story (like the concept of organized crime in the Palestinian world or the Christian minority in Israel), but these bits are watered-down to the point that they have much less impact than they should. I don't get sentimental about Israel-Palestinian relations - and I think this film is not much without the romantic and political elements behind the scenes of this film.
Stars: 1.5 of 4 stars
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
By the way, I know one can go through every month and spot every film and click on it and see your rating and read your review. But I do wish at the end of the year (and every three months or so) you'd do a list of the films you saw and the rating you gave them. That would make it a lot easier to see the movies you've seen (or are seeing) and how much you liked them. Otherwise I've got to open up every month just to try and find out if you've watched Munyurangabo or Lade Tahoe and what you thought of them. Just a thought....
ReplyDelete