Review of Ajami (2009) by Anthony P — 15 Jul 2010

In "Ajami," Omar's(Shair Kabaha) uncle defends himself from a shakedown attempt at his restaurant by grievously wounding the attacker which results in a blood feud. The restaurant is burned to the ground, the uncle is shot in the street and a neighbor is accidentally killed. The younger members of the family are sent away while Omar at the age of 19 must assume elder status, asking help from Abu-Lias(Youssef Sahwani), a local power broker, to negotiate a peace. Abu-Lias has a daughter, Hadir(Ranin Karim), and a restaurant where Malek(Ibrahim Frege), an illegal worker from the West Bank is employed and who has a grandmother who is gravely ill and needs a bone marrow transplant. Meanwhile, Dando(Eran Naim), an Israeli policeman, desperately searches for his missing brother.

"Ajami" is a compelling, yet flawed, movie that takes apart the notion that Israel is a segregated country, as both Arabs and Jews live together in the same city of Jaffa, a mix that occasionally creates violence. And even in these separate communities, there is diversity and divisions that cannot be overcome. The problem with this well-observed neo-realist movie is its reliance on the cliches and contrivances of crime drama and by unnecessarily complicating its structure. It is not a bad idea, per se, to tell the story from different viewpoints but it is when it gets out of control as time goes back and forth at will.

(Originally review on March 7, 2010.).