Genres

Visitors Review

Jeff Meyers 2012-05-24 21:25:10

Stories of violence, revenge and corruption smartly told by next-gen foreign filmmakers

chet 2012-05-24 10:09:12

An Incredible Film

I can't recall any movie where the the acting by the entire cast was so superlative - - it's hard to tell you're not just following a camera around as it captures real events. The film is a cascading series of interwoven events; by the time it ends you're relieved it's over, simply because you can't shake the feeling you wouldn't eventually be personally drawn in by the maelstrom of circumstance and tragedy that envelops everyone in the story.If you get the chance, see this film.

Tim Robey 2012-05-22 09:31:08

The actors, every one of them new to their craft, make the everydayness of the picture indelible and real.

Marc Savlov 2012-05-21 23:23:24

It does place the audience squarely amid the myriad horrors of a land and a conflict predicated, it appears, on little more than an age-old blood feud and Joseph Heller's concept of catch-22.

Andrew Schenker 2012-05-13 23:02:08

More impressive as a formal exercise than as a means to deepen our understanding of the characters or their situations.

Keith Cohen 2012-05-13 11:29:19

The movie is insightful in revealing how messy life can be with enemies living in close proximity to one another. The press notes point out the...

druid333-2 2012-05-04 21:46:42

Can't They Just Make Nice & Try To Get Along?

As most folk will know,the relationship between Isreali Jews & Arabshave always been,for the lack of a better word or phrase,tempestuous.This has formed the basis for some quality films on the subject.Scandar Copti & Yaron Shani are both film makers from the same side ofthe fence from Isreal (one Jewish,the other Arab),who are the voice ofreason,in the middle of all of the turmoil. They have both collaboratedon the ever so fine film,'Ajami',set mostly in the village of Jaffa(the scene of another fine film of the same name). Ajami tells fiveindividual stories of trying to keep one's head while others are losingthere own (and most time failing),with overlapping narratives. We seeboth the Arab,as well as the Jewish perspective of all of the madnessbrought on by mistrust,hatred,prejudice,etc. The cast includes:FouadHabash,Nisrine Rihan,Elias Saba & Abu George Shibli (representing theArab contingent),as well as:Eran Naim,Sigil Harel,Tamar Yerushalmi &Moshe Yerushalmi (representing the Isreali contingent). Scandar Copti &Yaron Shani co-write,direct & edit this,at times difficult to watch,buteasy to admire film that opts for a documentary look (courtesy ofdirector of photography,Boaz Yaacov),and featuring not just an originalmusic score (by Rabih Boukhari),but some inspired use of bothtraditional,as well as contemporary Arab & Isreali folk & popular music(by musical consultant,Watan El Kassem). This is edgy,intense filmmaking that makes for an enlightening evening at the cinema. Spoken inArabic & Hebrew with English subtitles. Not rated by the MPAA,this filmcontains pervasive strong language,violence (some of it ratherbloody,but nothing too graphic),and suicidal amounts of drug abuse.

Brian Orndorf 2012-05-04 04:16:08

Observing the ominous nature of violence and its crushing aftermath, Ajami is a striking raw nerve of a feature film, holding to a steady path of dread, but keeping the story on its toes by jolting back and forth through locations and time.

2012-04-25 22:06:18

Must watch at least twice

This review is from: Ajami (Amazon Instant Video) This one is moving and complex. I found it interesting. I love that they are telling their own story. It reminds me of City of God.

Chris Knipp 2012-04-25 12:45:59

Israel's mean streets

Ajami is a first film by the team of Scandar Copti, an Israeli Arab(with a Christian family name), and Yaron Shani, an Israeli Jew. Itgained recognition at Cannes and in Israel; and is nominated for theBest Foreign Oscar. Using locally recruited non-actors, shooting in theAjami neighborhood of Jaffa, which has become a mostly Arab ghettooutpost of Tel Aviv, 'Ajami' is full of improvisation and hand-heldcamera work that give it an intense feeling of immediacy -- and seetheswith action disturbing enough to leave you feeling bruised. Israelicinema is remarkable for a tiny country; it's a pity more Arabs outsideIsrael can't see this film. Despite the myriad hostilities andmisunderstandings 'Ajami' depicts -- between Palestinians from theterritories and Israeli Arabs; Arab Christians and Arab Muslims;Israelis and Arabs; rich and poor; old and young -- there is hope inthe fact that an Arab and a Jew could team up for such passionatefilm-making.'Ajami' interweaves multiple story-lines with a documentary feel usinga large cast and, to make matters more complicated but also underlineinterconnections, it's divided into chapters that are not quite inchronological order so some events are seen again, from a differentangle the second time. Most of the scenes are in Arabic but some are inHebrew or a mixture of Hebrew and Arabic. All the location inter-titlesand the end credits are rigorously both Hebrew and Arabic -- a practicenot uncommon in Israeli cinema, but especially resonant here.The action begins with a drive-by shooting -- of the wrong person. Ayoung boy, Nasri (Fouad Habash), who narrates the film, his soft voicegiving it a kind of clarity and delicacy, is present when his cousin isshot while working on a car in the street. The hit man meant to getNasri's brother Omar (Shahir Kabaha), as revenge for Nasri's uncle'skilling of an extortionist. Omar is now clearly in mortal danger.The neighborhood leader and restaurant owner Abu Elias (YoussefSahwani) arranges a deal-brokering among village elders at a bedouincamp where men bid back and forth as to how much protection or payoffmoney is required for Omar to stay alive. Omar can't possibly raise thesum finally arrived upon, but he's indentured at Abu Elias' restaurant;and there, Omar turns out to be in love with his boss' daughter Hadir(Ranin Karim), a serious no-no, since her family is Christian andOmar's is Muslim. Next there arrives a bright-eyed and innocentteenager, Malek (Ibrahim Frege) who sneaks in from the occupiedterritories and is an illegal worker in the restaurant, an Arabexploited by an Arab, the harsh Abu Elias. Malek also has an impossiblefinancial burden, needing to raise many thousands to pay for a bonemarrow transplant for his seriously ill mother.Eventually both Omar and Malek are drawn into trying to deal dope toraise money, against the strong objections of Nasri, and totallyagainst the wishes of Abu Elias, who wishes to appear to functionwithin the law, even if he doesn't.Meanwhile there are the Israeli and near-Israeli parts of the story.Dishonest Israeli cop Dando (Eran Naim) appears both as a bastard, whenpersecuting the boys who're clumsily attempting to sell cocaine, and asofty, when it comes to the disappearance of his younger brother fromthe army, perhaps captured by Palestinians, an event that devastateshis family (these are the all-Hebrew scenes). The Arab co-directorCopti himself plays Binj, a Palestinian who speaks fluent Hebrew andhas a non-Arabic speaking Jewish girlfriend. He is pressured by hisArab friends for this, and his life turns tragic when he holds drugsfor the others after his brother has stabbed a Jewish neighbor in anargument over noisy animals, and the cops manhandle him, with Dando onhand in his bad-cop role. This sequence about Binj seems to dramatizethe futility of cross-over dreams in this harsh world. (The problemsfaced by Arabs living in a Hebrew-speaking Israeli environment has alsobeen dealt with in the hit Israeli sitcom "Arab Work.") It doesn't necessarily seem as though Dando is more dangerous, in asense, for the young Palestinians than the brutish Abu Elias, whothreatens to break Omar's bones if he continues his courtship of Hadir.Partly it is the elders who appear as the villains, more threateninghere than Israeli checkpoint guards.One has to grapple with all these plot elements to follow 'Ajami.' Theintersections get complicated, and the film is a bit under-edited attwo full hours, but there is a wealth of cultural material that getsacross along with the insistent problems and an overwhelming sense ofhopelessness for young Arabs. There is great warmth among friends andfamily members of all stripes. But even fun moments seem framed inscariness, like a birthday celebration for Malek which he's sent to bythreatening him that the "government" (الحكومة, i.e. police) is afterhim. Even the birthday present they give Malek, an electrified tennisracket, has an edge of menace. 'Ajami' doesn't stop for a breath or amoment of happiness: it succeeds in convincing you that isn't possible.Further proof of that impossibility came early this month (February2010) and life imitated art when Scandar Copti's brother Tony, asupporting actor in the film, was arrested after Israeli police accusedsome Ajami teenagers of hiding drugs who said they were only burying adog. This led to a brawl in which Tony Copti and another brother werearrested and hauled off to the police station for questioning,according to a 'Haaretz' article.

Robin Clifford 2012-04-22 10:43:36

...deft filmmaking and storytelling by the tyro directing team. I cannot wait to see their follow up works.

ruth44 2012-04-21 20:48:57

Extraordinary film

Ajami is the first full length feature film directed by two youngIsraelis Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani.They have produced an extraordinary film which features five separatestories set in Ajami, a poor Arab neighborhood situated in the city ofTel-Aviv/Yafo. The many characters are played mostly by nonprofessionals, i.e. are not working actors, and the result gives adocumentary feel to the film. Amazingly the level of acting is veryhigh and ensures that the film is completely believable and absorbingfrom beginning to end. Perhaps the only drawback is the limited timeavailable to develop each main character. The viewer wants to know moreabout them and their lives but time is limited.The film shows a part of Israeli society rarely shown in Israeli films(Arab Moslem and Arab Christian families living in Ajami) and themakers are to be commended for their achievement in showing a ratherhidden side of our society.

2012-04-20 01:31:50

Wonderful film, seemingly forgotten by general public

This review is from: Ajami (Amazon Instant Video) I don't think it got nearly as much press as some of the other nominees, but it definitely deserved its nomination and other awards. I loved the blend of Arabic and Hebrew as well as the contrasting landscpaces and storylines facing the film's characters. One important feature that viewers shouldn't overlook is the acting. None of the actors in the film had any acting expreience prior to filming. That's right. No one. Moreover, most of the film's scenes were heavily improvised, so the actors' dialogue and emotionals are raw. This made the film seem so much more like a documentary than a movie. It had it's light moments; I laughed a few times, but this film is heavy and not for the faint of heart. Still, if I were you, I wouldn't shy away from seeing this powerful piece.

2012-04-19 13:40:57

perfect

in my humble opinion.. i think it's A great important film A contemporary crime drama ....revenge,scare, loyalty, hope and despair, lived up to those expectations - AJAMI showing us the real life of most of the young ... the young refugees who working illegally to cover thier families expenses;. Through this big challenge and dramatic collision of different worlds, we witness cultural and religious even colors and the tragic effects of enemies living as neighbors. Actually i have some friend . A palestenian from israel who have seen the film and learnd alot even change some of thier life and working legaly away of all the stupped ways of deallig with drugs to gotting more money for covoring the family costs...i would love to thank and preciate every one who involved in this film . Who show us the hidding agenda of the Palestinian's who living in or near Israel even in general of enemies living asneighbors

Blade_Le_Flambeur 2012-04-19 17:09:23

Who is the good guy? Who is the bad guy? Does it matter?

Ajami tells the tale of Israeli Jews and Arabs, albeit splintered. Theaudience is treated to a violent opening followed by dialogue andinteraction. As they see the individual characters unwind, the Arabstore owner, the Israeli cop, things begin to get more complicated.The primary power of Ajami is in its mode of storytelling whichcorrelates to the content itself. There are several chapters, eachtelling a different story. What is most intriguing is how these storiesfit. A character will appear two chapters later only for his intentionsto be revealed then. A certain act of violence, a consequence ofviolence, etc. are not contextualized but only taken in the moment. Theviewer may be tempted to judge or hold preconceived notions about thecharacters until the filmmakers, often with great effect, reveal thetrue intentions of these individuals.This can be applied to the whole of the Israel-Palestine situation.Each violence has its lasting impact on individuals and groups alike.In Ajami a murder is not only between the victim and the perpetrator.Likewise reading in the news about a killing can only tell a fractionof the truth. The filmmakers wisely adopted a very documentary likefeel to this film, similar to The Class and Gomorra. Characters namesare only mentioned realistically. There is a sense of confusion as towho is whom for some of the sequences. At times it is frustratingbecause a Western audience may be more tempted to discuss the actualidentity of a character than understand the point of the movie as awhole. Another issue is that this documentary, video approach tofilm-making can sometimes feel problematic or trite. By the time thethird and fourth chapters are reached, there are several emotionalclimaxes. But these are immediately followed by more revealing. Itworks in most cases, prompting me to give Ajami a very high mark.It is a film worth seeing for anyone interested or disinterested in theregion. A highly potent character study that proves, perhapsunintentionally, the power of a filmmaker to show or to not showintentions.

Rick Groen 2012-04-19 07:31:29

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.

Matthew Turner 2012-04-15 01:06:19

Ajami has an appealingly rough-edged, authentic feel to it, thanks to some strong location work and the fact that the cast is drawn largely from non-professionals and real life locals.

Jim Slotek 2012-04-14 09:37:03

A deceptive movie, one that introduces its characters in the heat of violence, allows us to make conclusions based on what we see, then shatters our assumptions in the telling of how that moment came about.

Sean Burns 2012-04-08 22:20:53

Copti and Shani are promising talents, but they're a bit too clever for their own good.

Peter Bradshaw 2012-04-08 11:06:10

The pattern of connections and coincidences is a little overschematic, but the movie has energy, especially in the grippingly real shooting scene at the beginning.