Review of Ajami (2009) by Ollie W — 19 Jun 2011
An incredibly powerful and moving slice of Middle Eastern realism, created by two very different individuals working with non-professionals cast to type and delivering wonderful, authentic, improvised dialogue. The importance of this film resonates with nearly every scene, unlike recent Hollywood big-hitters like Spielberg, Copti and Shani strive for truly gritty realism, where no agenda is promoted, no one community condemned.
That's not to say that the two directors aren't capable of manipulating their message, indeed, sometimes needless but stylish devices are employed to rack up the tension and involvement - the looping of narratives, the retelling of one climatic situation from several different points of view - all somewhat superfluous when considering the high quality of performance and material on offer, but never detractive from the tragic and important message that motivates the entire composition.
Tense, brutal and extremely upsetting, this is incredible modern-day film-making at it's most courageous.
This review of Ajami (2009) was written by Ollie W on 19 Jun 2011.
Ajami has generally received very positive reviews.
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