I sat down to watch the Oscar nominated film Omar, written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad, knowing only three things about it: that it was foreign, that it was an Oscar nominee, and that it was a thriller of some sorts. After completing my screening of the film, I came away with three realizations, that this was a fantastic movie worthy of its nomination, that great films can still come from unexpected places like Palestine, and that this is one of the best thought provoking thrillers I’ve seen in a long time and it doesn’t even fall under the “genre” category.
Set in the occupied territories, Omar follows, well, a man named Omar (Adam Bakri) who by day is a Palestinian baker and at night a freedom fighter looking fight against Israeli occupation in the West Bank. Omar regularly climbs over the separation wall to visit his buddy Amjad (Samer Bisharat), his militant friend Tarek (Eyad Hourani) and Tarek’s sister Nadia (Leem Lubany), who is also Omar’s love interest. After the trio kill an Israeli soldier one night, Omar is arrested and tricked into admitting his guilt, though not explicitly, and soon finds himself with a difficult choice, one that results in him agreeing to work as an informant to track down Tarek. Omar is now put in a difficult situation and an even more dangerous game as he has to choose between betraying his loved ones and betraying his Israeli captors who are determined to ruin him if he tries anything funny. To top that, he has to try and figure out who he can trust during a conflict that shows no signs of letting up.
Omar is a down to earth dramatic thriller that uses the political conflict between Israel and Palestine to turn one man’s life into an intense emotional hell. It’s an interesting premise that is certainly rooted in reality, one that shows only Omar’s perspective who, most likely, isn’t along and is only a small cog in the giant conflicting machine of this dual nation conflict. It delves deep into how a greedy traitor can destroy so many lives and how an attempt to uncover the truth can make matters worse, both emotionally and physically.
There are a ton of first time actors in the film and most of them, excluding the Israeli agent that’s in charge of Omar’s case (Waleed Zuaiter), are the leads. Collectively they do a wonderful job of expressing the torment, stress, and passion that’s needed for these type of roles. Everyone has multiple faces, on the one hand they are freedom fighters and lovers, and on the other hand they are bakers, friends and brothers. Abu-Assad does a great showing both sides of each character, making it a point to show that each of them has a human element, they aren’t just fighters battling or protecting what they believe is right, they also want to make sure that their social and family life is strong and intact which is very important when making a film about a seemingly never-ending conflict.
From a dramatic standpoint the film is terrific, but it’s the action element that also strikes a chord and brings you to the edge of your seat. Omar and Tarek are constantly on the run and Omar specifically is involved in at least four foot chases that are exciting to watch as he attempts to evade the police. Furthermore, the action ties into the story well and is doesn’t exist merely to entertain, it’s there because it has to be, it engrosses you in the life or death decisions that Omar must make in order to find a way to set himself free.
What’s great about Omar is that when you think you have everything figured out, when you finally feel like things are resolved, Abu-Assad throws a curveball and pulls you right back into the film. It’s because of this that the film is able to take its emotional chokehold on you and allow the ending to be as great as it is.
Like I mentioned earlier, Omar is a fantastic and gripping dramatic thriller and one of the smartest ones I’ve seen in a while. While it probably won’t win the Oscar because of competition from The Great Beauty, its nomination alone should hopefully generate enough interest in fans of quality foreign cinema. I highly recommend people see this film because A) how often do you see a Palestinian film, let alone a good one, and B) it’s such an emotionally moving and exciting picture, a rare combination, I find, these days.
Rating: A smart, emotional, and thrilling Palestinian film worthy of its Oscar nomination (8/10)
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