Visitors Review

zikood (2012-05-24 00:26)

Even at 10/10, the film is still underrated

Ajami is a masterpiece, a film of the rare quality you look for whenhitting the cinema. The achievements of this film are far greater thanany shortcomings or glitches people may find.As someone who's been to many of the exact locations (or similar) thefilm portrays, I was thrilled to see how well the film managed toconnect these geographical dots together and create a very specificvisual language.Not often you see so many diverse landscapes and locations in one filmwithout the diversity being annoying and decorative. In a Ajami's case,the wide selection of locations enhances the strong linkage: a smallvillage near Nablus, the city of Tel-Aviv, a Bedouin encampment can beall linked by a single event.By going in digging backwards into the events, it seems like only morequestions arise, more events happen to be linked and the realityhappens to be far different to what we expect.This is the biggest quality of the film: It manages to open the eyes ofthose who thought their eyes were open already.

Ann Hornaday (2012-05-23 02:40)

While its themes of revenge, mutual resentment and grim fatalism offer little hope for a ready solutions, the movie itself testifies to the power of creative collaboration in finding common ground.

Howard Schumann (2012-05-23 08:11)

One two three, open your eyes

"On the count of three you'll open your eyes and find yourself in adifferent place, one two three. Open your eyes." Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film at the 2010 AcademyAwards, the outstanding Israeli film Ajami makes clear the human costof decades of political and military strife between Jews and Arabs inthe neighborhood of Ajami in Jaffa, Israel. Here there is a seeminglyimpassible divide between Jews, Christian, and Muslims whose daily lifeoffers no escape from the realities of poverty, violence, andoppression. In Ajami, there are no heroes and no villains. Eachreligious and ethnic community is trapped in the same tunnel searchingfor a speck of light.Shot on location using mostly non-professional actors includingneighborhood recruits, directors Yaron Shani (an Israeli), ScandorCopti (a Palestinian), in their first feature, capture the look andfeel of a community in disarray with such remarkable detail and rawurgency that Ajami could easily be mistaken for a documentary. InShani's words, "It was essential that we delivered reality as it is,without exaggeration, in its complexity. We had to capture the reallanguage, the real people, the real mentality, the way people are." Thefilm is divided into five chapters, each one shot from a specificperspective and each adding an extra layer of tension. As the filmopens, 13-year-old Nasri (Fouad Habash) is prescient when he says "Iknow I can feel what is about to happen." Shortly thereafter, adrive-by shooting kills an innocent fifteen year old boy when he ismistaken for Nasri's older brother Omar (Shahir Kabaha). The shootingis in retaliation for the death of a member of their clan who waskilled by Nasri's uncle. Though a truce is reached with the Bedouins,aided by Abu Elias (Youssef Sahwani), a Christian community leader,Omar must pay them $57,000 to stop the fighting. In dire straits anddesperate for money, Omar falls into the underworld of drugs andviolence.Meanwhile, Malek (Ibrahim Frege), a sweet-faced 16-year-old Palestinianboy living in the Occupied Territories comes to Jaffa to find work atthe restaurant of Abu Elias. Fearful of being sent home because of hisillegal status, he works hard to try and pay for a bone marrowtransplant that may save his mother's life but his need for moneybrings him into Omar's circle. In another sub-plot, Hadir's (RaninKarim) relationship with Omar crosses religious lines (she is aChristian and he is a Muslim) and is adamantly opposed by her fatherAbu Elias who forbids her to ever see Omar again even though she pleadshow much she loves him.Events in the film come thick and fast: Bing, a wealthy Palestinian(Scandar Copti) wants to live with his Jewish girlfriend in Tel Avivbut a police raid looking for drugs puts an end to his plans, an angryIsraeli policeman named Dando (Eran Naim) searches for his missingbrother who was drafted into the Army and is feared to have been killedby the Arabs, a Jewish man is stabbed to death after complaining aboutthe noise from sheep kept by Palestinians living nearby. According toShani what unfolded, although broadly scripted, was spontaneous in itsdetails – the hostility and the anger were real.Ajami does not offer any easy explanations nor any solutions to theneighborhood's unrest. It does, however, illuminate a problem that manywould rather forget. The characters, like the hijacker Sandro in theBrazilian film Bus 174, are driven by circumstances to do terriblethings out of rage and futility. Neither Bus 174 nor Ajami justifiestheir actions, however, but makes them more comprehensible. Though thefilm is grim and strips away idealism, it has a universal quality thatbegins and ends with the lovely song Eshkenakum by Maher Halabi, musicthat could be appreciated by any culture. Ajami leaves the viewer withlittle to be hopeful about, but the fact that a Jew and an Arab couldcollaborate on an intelligent and passionate motion picture based inpart on their own experiences is an important step forward.Change, however, will not come easily to Israel. As one of thedirectors has said, "It's very, very hard to change things – especiallyfrom an ideological point of view. But…once you deliver differentmessages and things that surprise people and show them things in adifferent way and try to open their minds to things that they didn'tthink about or they never heard about before, you can make a differencein their perspective." Shani may be telling us that when you aretotally convinced that nothing is possible, it is but a short step toeverything is possible.

Noel Murray (2012-05-23 02:44)

Ajami keeps asking: When do people cross the line? And when does pulling the trigger become a viable option?

A.O. Scott (2012-05-21 06:39)

You emerge from Ajami moved and also a little worn out, but mostly grateful for the heart, craft and intelligence the movie has shown.

Joshua Rothkopf (2012-05-20 16:28)

The combustible movie has had a strangely unifying effect on audiences worldwide; it deserves to find traction where it counts.

V.A. Musetto (2012-05-18 07:35)

The complexity might require a second viewing, but there is compensation in the realistic acting by a cast of non-pros and the eye-grabbing, hand-held lensing by Boaz Yehonatan Yacov.

Roger Ebert (2012-05-18 04:59)

The specifics of the plot in Ajami aren't as important as the impact of many sad moments that build up one after another. Hatred is like the weather. You don't agree with the rain but still you get wet.

Chris Cabin (2012-05-16 21:19)

a stylish and important step towards forming a more compelling, bravely engaging portrayal of a country in turmoil without disregarding its hypocrisies, corruption and seemingly never-ending suffering.

Rick Groen (2012-05-16 09:50)

The performances are searingly intense, all delivered by non-professionals cast to type and extemporizing within the parameters of the script. They take the play out of acting, and the effect is unvarnished realism.

Radu_A (2012-05-13 23:06)

Awesome as long as it's not political

Like many recent Israeli films, 'Ajami' succeeds to illustrate theenormous ethnic and cultural complexity of the country, with anauthentic, non-trained cast to boot. I'd say it's a must-see foranybody interested in the Middle East, because it presents a view intoIsraeli society that is all too often obliterated by politics.Focusing on the low-income, ethnically mixed neighborhood of the samename, 'Ajami' describes a number of interwoven relationships, touchingpetty crime, revenge killings, labor extortion and police corruption.The only weak point is that on top of these everyday occurrences, thefilm uses the disappearance of an Israeli soldier as a central plotdevice; while this may be a real risk, it's not an everyday occurrenceas the other incidents described and therefore feels a bit forced.Other than that, 'Ajami' has a very special, raw, authentic feel to it,especially in its first hour, when it spreads out in so many differentdirections that it becomes difficult to follow, but never obscure. Onlyin the end, when the directors try to reconnect the threads of theirstories, it takes a bit of a dive.If you allow yourself to be captivated by 'Ajami''s atmosphere anddon't focus to much on the plot, you're in for a real treat.

Spuzzlightyear (2012-05-13 03:15)

Ajami

An interesting film, no doubt heavily influenced by "Traffic" and"Babel" "Ajani" takes 5 or 6 stories and quite brilliantly interweavesthem together. The film mostly focuses on the Arab/Israeli conflict,and it's effect on the regular townspeople. It would help if you knew abit of history (I didn't) to have a better political connection to thestories, but that's OK, the stories make up for it with it's humanelement. It's a bit confusing to follow for the first bit while you'retrying to figure out what the filmmakers are doing, but once you getinto it, you get hooked. Contains a twist ending that's both shockingand in an instant, puts more depth into the story. A must see if you'reinto these types of films. Great work here.

EyeDunno (2012-05-13 17:16)

Tragically Beautiful; Beautifully Tragic.

In trying to keep this review right to the point, I must say that thereare few movies that keep one thinking and wondering. Just who *are*these actors in this film? Is the story line about life in such an areasimilar (or, as tragic and seemingly hopeless)? How in the world didthe film get written so tightly? The acting was impeccable. For the life of me, I cannot understand oneword of the languages used in the film, so I had to rely on tone,emotion, body language and projection. I felt that everyone in front ofthe camera has lived through pain and heartache in their own lives, theway they could embrace the emotions that they carried so well, both theyoung and older performers. Ajami is an emotional roller coaster forcertain; from the very first scene, it's bound to startle. It's adeeply charged film that speaks so much about life and death, livingamongst all the suffering, all with so much prayer and religious beliefintertwined (no, this film does not pound the viewer with religion) ...which helps confound the viewer by asking where the heart of theproblem is in that region, in the first place?A great piece of filmmaking compels the viewer to dig deeper and findback stories and trivia. Ajami is such a film because I put my trust inthe protagonists to believe their characters. They did not lose mybelief from some unbelievable twist in plot or outcome. If you can handle the emotionally tragic story, please seek out Ajami.If you're not sure, strengthen your inner soul some day to watch thisfilm. Absolutely top notch, even with the difficult plot jumping thatsometimes happens. If you feel puzzled, the film will not let you down~ you'll learn all you need in time to drop your jaw clear to the couchby the time the credits roll. Ajami is Amazing.

kickall (2012-05-13 01:30)

Dichotomy is no longer dichotomy

Story has been told by separate chapters, and not sequentially in time.Each chapter gives just about the right weight for character andstory-line development, no less and no more.The film does let dichotomy regarding the cultural, religious, economicand ethnic conflicts be presented, beginning to end, as viewers may allhave participated.What distinguish the film from the average arrangement is 1). a backthrust of the powerful ending, and 2). the crisp closing of eachchapter and 3). the motif gradually changing its tone from chapter tochapter. This gives the exciting movie going experiences, much morethan, if this film has been shot in, a linear, one way, manner,instead, to offer.After seeing the movie, viewers can fully apprehend why living in thisterritory is complicated enough and dichotomy is no longer dichotomyfor an outsider to judge those who are in this entanglement of themillennium; sadly, it remains hard for generations to expectresolutions in an easy way.

tombthrower (2012-05-10 02:53)

Amazing piece of work

First of all, I have to say that I usually hate Israeli movies, they'reeither awfully political, terribly artsy or both altogether.I came to an early screening of this movie during a workshop in which Iwas participating, not knowing what to expect but not expecting much,and man... This movie blew me away. It's just great, really. Don't getme wrong, it's not perfect, but it's still great."City of God meets Pulp Fiction", some would say, and I tend to agreewith them! Besides, all the characters in the movie are played byabsolute non-actors, and they make an amazing job doing it.Anyway, all I'm saying is - go see it!

Nozz (2012-05-09 16:43)

Confusing but well acted, holds interest

There is the sensitive kid thrust into a situation that requires morematurity and smarts than normal for his age, there is the couple whoselove incurs disapproval because it crosses ethnic lines, there is theauthority figure who protects you today but may turn against youtomorrow... the problem is, this movie has two of each of those. Thecast of characters is huge and hard to keep track of, the plot isartificially discontinuous, and in short if you want to get the moviestraight, you'd better be ready to see it twice. Which you may want to,because the acting is convincing and although the characters are usedfrom time to time to make a clear and didactic sociopolitical point,they win considerable sympathy from the viewer-- without, for the mostpart, being oversentimentalized.

Red-125 (2012-05-09 16:40)

They're neighbors, but they're not friends

Ajami (2009) is an Israeli film nominated for Academy Award BestForeign Language film. It's written and co-directed by an Israeli and aPalestinian--Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani.This is a powerful film that takes place in the Ajami district, on theoutskirts of Jaffa. Ajami is a mixed neighborhood, where Muslims,Christians, and Jews coexist in an uneasy truce. The film opens with ascene of violence, and then flashes back to an earlier scene ofviolence for which the opening scene violence was a retaliation. There were five plot threads, all of them interrelated. Each scene waspowerful, but I sometimes had trouble remembering how the charactersknew each other, and how their history was shaping their presentactions.We saw this film at the superb Rochester Jewish Film Festival, but itwill work well on DVD. In fact, I think DVD might be better, becausethen you can go back and review what previous scene led to the sceneyou're watching. It all fits together, but it was hard for me toremember just how it fits together. It's worth watching the movie and,if need be, watching it again.

Matt Bochenski (2012-05-09 10:21)

A rare film that will force you to confront your own prejudices.

Donald J. Levit (2012-05-06 09:19)

Complex like its nation's own ethnic and cultural stew, this is bracing cinema even while its implications are distressing in the extreme.

John Hartl (2012-05-06 03:05)

A compelling drama about prejudice and folly.