Cannes. "Ajami"

By David Hudson on 05/23/2009

"Ajami" "took seven years to make, and [closed] the Directors' Fortnight on Friday," notes Joan Dupont, who talks with directors "Scandar Copti, a Jaffa-born Arab, and the Israeli Yaron Shani" for the International Herald Tribune. They "also share billing as its writers" and "have made a powerful movie about a community of restless bedfellows. There are Palestinians working illegally, organized gangs, drug traders, Bedouin revenge squads, corrupt Jewish police, clandestine lovers and a Christian Arab godfather. All are vividly played by a cast of nonprofessionals. The film opens on a revenge murder - a case of mistaken identity - witnessed by Nasri, an Arab boy."

For Dan Fainaru, writing in Screen, this is "an amazingly authentic picture, powerfully directed and interpreted by a totally inexperienced cast - and one with a strong chance of following 'The Band's Visit' and 'Waltz With Bashir' to become Israel's next crossover success. A fractured chronology introduces a series of inter-related stories fatally united at the end by the same tragic knot."

"Rarely has the tinderbox nature of the Middle East been so accurately lensed, on such an intimate scale," writes Jay Weissberg in Variety. The writers/directors "start with a revenge killing and then show the repercussions furiously fanning out, to tragic results. Time shifts may overcomplicate the narrative for some, but the pay-off packs a major punch... The one region 'Ajami' can never play is the Middle East, since the Arab world's cultural boycott of all things Israeli means that the most intelligent critiques of the occupation remain largely unseen by a target audience starved of multidimensional fare. Copti and Shani took months auditioning locals, many of whom are from Jaffa's multi-ethnic Ajami neighborhood. Rehearsals assumed the form of role-playing, so the amateur performers were guided to their characters by improv, giving a sense of spontaneity and reality that's enhanced by handheld lensing."

Coverage of the coverage: Cannes 2009.

[Photo: "Ajami," Inosan Productions and Vertigo Films, 2009]

Tags: Ajami, Cannes 2009, Israeli Cinema, Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani