Cast:  Shahir Kabaha, Ibrahim Frege, Fouad Habash, Ranin Karim

Directors: Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani

Screenwriters: Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani

This Oscar nominated collaboration between Copti and Shani, an Israeli and a Palestinian, marks a desire to gain a deeper understanding of the well-documented rivalry between the Arab and Jewish peoples. So instead of getting a one-sided view of the conflict Ajami documents the conflict by showing it through the eyes of different characters; there’s 13-year-old Palestinian refugees Nasri (Fouad Habash) and older brother Omar (Shahir Kabaha) who come to Jaffa in Israel to escape the brutal gang violence and honour killings in Palestine, while their friend Malek (Ibrahim Frege) comes to Israel in order to find work and raise money for his ailing mother’s surgery.

On the other side we also see what it’s like to be  a cop in Israel through the character of Dando (Eran Naim) who has to deal with violence between the two sides, whilst also looking for his missing son, a soldier in the Israeli army who is suspected of being killed by Arabs. We also get the character of Binj (co-director Scandar Copti) a man caught between the two sides as a Palestinian with a Jewish girlfriend, and whose brother is accused of killing a Jewish man.

Ajami is also given an documentary feel by the use of handheld camerawork, the use of an entirely non-professional cast (including the use of actual policeman as extras) who were not given scripts to rehearse, but instead carefully directed as to what emotions they should be feeling. The film was also shot in chronological order and comprises mostly of first takes and so captures the spontaneity of the cast making the performances seem more real and less mannered. The result is that you really believe in these characters and really feel in the middle of this conflict, which is why it’s a such a shock when characters are cruelly killed. The dilapidated, dusty  and crowded environment is wonderfully captured too and brought vividly to llife by cinematographer Boaz Yehonatan Yacov

The film, like Matteo Garrone’s mafia drama Gomorrah, acutely demonstrates  how futile it is to live in a ‘jungle’ where hatred breeds more hatred and violence breeds more violence, and where  the poor are trampled by those with power and influence. As Omar puts it, “without money or power you’re nothing and no-one would care if you die.� The film also demonstrates how easy it is to turn to dangerous criminal activities in order to make ends meets, or in Omar’s case pay back neighbourhood gang who that seeks to murder his family in order to avenge his uncle’s shooting of one their gang members (the scene in which the two sides attempt to make a settlement is also notable for the ironic piety in which it is conducted, with money being put aside for God). 

Through characters like Binj and Omar we also see the ridiculousness of the conflict between the different religions. When Binj announces plans to move to the more Jewish Tel Aviv with his girlfriend he is greeted with anger and accusations of betrayal and family neglect by his Palestinian friends even though he only intends to move a very short distance away. Meanwhile similarly, Omar is seeing the Christian daughter of his boss and is told by the furious father that he must never see her again, despite their previous friendly relations.

The film captures well then the simmering melting pot of  antagonistic people on the borders of Israel and Palestine. It shows the harsh realities of this conflict and serves as a refreshing antidote to the biased reactions to the conflict. Let’s hope that there are more people willing to see both sides of the story out there, but watching this film is a good start.

By Priscilla Eyles

Ajami is out now courtesy of Vertigo Films.