Amazing movie, set in Golan Heights, occupied by Israel. A story about a young woman engaged to her cousin, she has never met him, he is a movie star in syria, and he has only seen a picture of her. Once she leaves Golan, she will be syrian and not allowed back, unable to visit her parents. Her dad is an activist, spent time in an Israeli jail. Her Aunt is struggling to be a free woman, but is oppresed by her husband - and here is the theme, oppression. Oppression by religious leaders, by Israeli, by men, by tradition. The movie is supposed to be a comedy (what?) and there are funny moments. But this is a sad story. Sartre says we invent our world, and dear god what a world we have invented. The Syrians decide not to let her cross the border, and Israeli's won't let her back, so she sits in no-man's land (The UN Zone between Golan and Syria) waiting for a bureaucratic solution (an oxymoron). The ending is hopeful: Mona (the bride) solves the dilemma herself, with her strong will and determination...which will hopefully serve her well in syria in an arranged marriage. It took the director three years to work out the setting and scenes of the movie. Remarkable! BTW, Clara Khoury, the bride, is amazingly beautiful - she has the beauty of an Arab queen or princess (like a statue) but somehow conveys the sadness of a woman marrying someone she doesnt know, leaving her parents, never to return. Wow.
No comments:
Post a Comment