Review of Ajami (2009) by Sean C — 07 Jul 2012
You have to applaud the fact that all the performances in the movie are delivered by non-professionals, although I had an especially difficult time following this movie at times. The linguistic difference between Hebrew and Arabic is important for distinguishing who is talking or where the scene is taking place, for example, and I have a woeful ear for the two.
The story is very moving, though, even while the non-linear, multi-arc crossroads of the characters is feeling more and more tiresome in this genre at this point, years removed from "Crash".
Why can't cultural crime dramas be told in a logical structure anymore? Not every movie has to be "City of God". However, "Ajami" is a wonderful cultural film and one scene, in particular, that involved a bedouin tribunal will be on my mind for some time.
This film excels at humanizing a part of the world that the rest of us fear and misunderstand, while also pointing out how cemented some aspects of its violent undercurrent are in their society.
This review of Ajami (2009) was written by Sean C on 07 Jul 2012.
Ajami has generally received very positive reviews.
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