By 
“OMAR” ****
A young Palestinian rebel climbs a great wall amidst the chaotic battlefield, facing deadly risks in order to see the smile of the girl he loves. But that’s not the greatest challenge the title protagonist needs to deal with. Life will be toughest than he ever imagined in Hany Abu-Assad latest take on the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, following the suicidal-bomb story of “Paradise Now”. He constantly crosses the wall to fulfill his passionate desire, and this physical action is also a metaphor that will persist throughout the narrative as an obstacle to shatter his perspectives. At the same time he’s acquiring a higher level of maturity, he’s being recruited and trained to become a lethal weapon to attack the enemy along his two best friends. Everything motivates him to keep up with his efforts so he can prove himself, and the girl’s family that he’s ready to commit, but the ‘wall’ as life itself brings upon him an unbearable storm that will challenge his concepts, emotional needs, his strength and determination. And the hardest one involves everyone he loves and his future.
This is a devastating and mesmerizing film about love and war in the new century, the struggles and beliefs of faith, about existential issues and unanswered questions. Director Assad deserves all credits he can get for his terrific work here: his narrative aesthetic is something of a great and inspiring story-teller. His screenplay presents the players and their dilemmas with incredible mastery, precision and profound sensibility. Sometimes the camera just stands there contemplating and studying every trace of Omar’s personality, especially in the secret moments of true love he shares with his girl, proving the director’s authenticity to create a poetic atmosphere amidst the bloody scenario; in other more crucial moments, the camera nervously runs around the entire village, witnessing Omar attempts to escape from the agents, creating a tension that is far more stylized and intriguing than many Hollywood thrillers.
Among his countless efforts in this turbulent, yet lovely tale of violence and hope, Assad also offers the audience the right to decide or even judge the protagonist and his actions, first introducing him as this quiet figure who’s obviously in love with his childhood friend’s sister, then revealing his killing machine aspirations, a young revolted man who’s ferociously willing to fight an insane battle he doesn’t really understand in fact. He’s pushed by the traditions, the history, his loyalty to his people, the dignity, humiliations and injustice he feels, and all he really wants is to walk away with the grand prize, his girl. Assad then, changes the circumstances focusing on the aftermath relationship he develops with his friends, the girl and an Israeli officer, and how each one will interfere with the future and cooperate with the inevitable tragedy.
As he points to each one’s reasons and individual battles of their own, including both sides of the wall, presenting their perseverance and resistance, Assad tries to justify them, punching a heartbreaking alert that claims for peace and understanding.
Comments