This satirical free adaptation of Sayed Kashua’s darkly ironic, prize-winning novel of the same title displays a deep understanding of the code-switching, compartmentalized existence of many Palestinian citizens of Israel. And it also takes note of their limited rights. Sami (Alex Bakri), a Palestinian-born Jerusalem-based accountant who is having an affair with a Jewish colleague, travels with his unhappy wife (the mesmerizing Juna Suleiman) and young son to the Arab village where he was born to attend the wedding of his younger brother. When Sami and family try to return home later that night, they find that the village has been locked down by the Israeli military with no entrances or exits allowed and no explanations forthcoming. Trapped in his parents’ home, Sami must come to terms with his past and his heritage and his actual place in contemporary Israel. Selected for the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, and directed with low-key comic flair by Eran Kolirin (The Band’s Visit).
Director Biography
Eran Kolirin burst onto the international spotlight with his feature debut The Band’s Visit (2007), which was adapted into a Broadway musical that won 10 Tony Awards. He directed The Exchange (2011) and Beyond the Mountains and Hills (2016), which appeared at the 2017 MSPIFF.
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