"AJAMI"

Ajami. No, not an exotic fruit but an actual neighborhood in Jafa. Here, Jews, Palestinains, Christian Arabs and many many more live side by side, trying to make it through the day. I watched this slightly under-advertised Oscar® nominee and Cannes special mention winner in the “Human Rights” section of a film festival. And it’s an Israeli film, starring mainly Palestinians and that might set alarm bells ringing, but actually no, it is definately NOT what you might think…
Ajami, as far as I can tell, parts from the fact that you cannot understand the whole without seing the individual pieces first. A very wise point of view, especially if something as complicated as life in the Middle-East is concerned… So we watch five different stories – stories that are inextricably intertwined – of life, and a very sad event in Ajami. It all starts when a young Bedouin charges into a small café demanding “protection money” from the owner. The Palestinian owner refuses to be frightened by this young upstart and shoots him on the spot, paralyzing him. What he doesn’t know however, is that the Bedouin is part of a very strong clan, and that now his entire family is in danger. Things escalate when a 15-year old neighborhood boy is shot when he is mistaken for Omar, the café-owner’s nephew… 19 year-old Omar decides that it falls to him to sort this mess out. And unwittingly becomes part of a very destructive chain reaction that will upturn the lives of every single person it touches.
Ajami is a great success in that it is a very good micro-cosm of what is going on in the middle east right now. Memories running deep, violence surrounding the innocent who are desperate to save themselves and lead relatively normal lives… The directors use a non-lineer timeline and a brutally straightforward tone as they show us first one and then another of the pieces of the puzzle. The resulting picture will leave you shocked and very possibly in tears… And it is not a “sided” movie either, despite the fact that it is infact an Israeli-German co-production. It just shows that, no matter what your ethnic / religious background, all people suffer in the same way. That killing is a tragic thing, no matter who the gun is pointed at. And it reminds you that this kind of thing goes on around us. All over the world.
So be warned, it will shake you up, but I sincerely think it’s worth it…
Oh and one footnote worth mentioning : None of the people you will see in the film are profesional actors, and the feel that alone adds to the subject is well worth the two hours...