Palestinian

TO A LAND UNKNOWN: no good choices

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Photo caption: Mohammed Ghassan (right) in TO A LAND UNKNOWN. Courtesy of Watermelon Pictures.

The searing thriller To a Land Unknown takes us to Athens, into the underground world of Palestinian migrants stuck until they acquire false passports that will get them into Germany. Yasser (Mohammed Ghassan) is a decent family man forced into low level criminality to survive and raise money for the forged passport; he is also burdened by responsibility for his cousin, whose drug addiction is a ticking bomb. Repeatedly exploited and defrauded, Yasser conceives of one very risky way out – to scam the very human traffickers preying on him.

Ghassan is excellent, as is Angeliki Papoulis as a fun-loving but clear-eyed Greek woman also living in the margins. 

To a Land Unknown is the gripping first feature for Dubai-born Mahdi Fleifel, who works between Britain, Denmark and Greece.

I screened To a Land Unknown for the Nashville Film Festival and recommended it in my Under the radar at Nashville. After a brief arthouse run, To a Land Unknown is streamable from Amazon, AppleTV and YouTube.

TO A LAND UNKNOWN: no good choices

by
Photo caption: Mohammed Ghassan (right) in TO A LAND UNKNOWN. Courtesy of Watermelon Pictures.

The searing thriller To a Land Unknown takes us to Athens, into the underground world of Palestinian migrants stuck until they acquire false passports that will get them into Germany. Yasser (Mohammed Ghassan) is a decent family man forced into low level criminality to survive and raise money for the forged passport; he is also burdened by responsibility for his cousin, whose drug addiction is a ticking bomb. Repeatedly exploited and defrauded, Yasser conceives of one very risky way out – to scam the very human traffickers preying on him.

Ghassan is excellent, as is Angeliki Papoulis as a fun-loving but clear-eyed Greek woman also living in the margins. 

To a Land Unknown is the gripping first feature for Dubai-born Mahdi Fleifel, who works between Britain, Denmark and Greece.

I screened To a Land Unknown for the Nashville Film Festival and recommended it in my Under the radar at Nashville. To a Land Unknown is now in arthouse theaters, including the Laemmle Royal, Town Center 5 and Glendale.

Omar: a heartbreaking love story inside a West Bank thriller

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omarThe gripping and thought-provoking Palestinian drama Omar, which opens tomorrow, is a fundamentally a love story that drives an action thriller.  It seems to be about a college-age Palestinian guy named Omar and his two buddies.  They live in a West Bank Arab community that is repressed by apparently omniscient and omnipotent Israeli security forces.  It’s an environment where one bad choice can spiral one’s life completely out of control – and one that is toxic with betrayals.

There are thrills aplenty when the Israeli security teams are chasing our hero.  We’ve never seen more riveting chase scenes through the alleys and rooftops of West Bank cities.  Shot in Nazareth and Nablus, Omar gives us a novel look at these Arab communities and the Israeli security wall.

But it is basically a love story, albeit a heartbreaking one, because most of the plot is motivated by Omar’s love for his sweetheart Nadia.  The first action by the three young guys stems from politics, testosterone and the foolhardiness of youth.  But everything that happens after is because of Omar’s yearning for Nadia.  We also see the chaste Palestinian courtship rituals; the kids are burning with passion for each other as they exchange letters and discreet glances.

Omar is not for everyone.  For one thing, it doesn’t try to be even-handed about the Israeli Occupation – everything is seen through the Palestinian lens.  It’s realistic – one Israeli character in particular is humanized and it’s easy for the audience to disapprove of the boneheaded behavior by the young Palestinians.  But if you aren’t open to that Palestinian perspective, you’re not going to like this movie.  And the ending is unusually jarring – my fellow audience members sat in shocked silence for a few seconds.

Omar won a jury prize at Cannes and is nominated for this year’s Best Foreign Language Oscar.