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Product Description
Description
Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, Ajami unfolds as a piercing, raw and powerful crime drama set against the volatile backdrop of Israel’s Ajami neighbourhood, a cultural melting pot riddled with conflict between Jews, Muslims and Christians. Spread across five harrowing chapters, the film weaves together the experiences of a cross-section of the city’s inhabitants, exploring the tragic consequences of enemies living as neighbours as it races toward its heart-stopping conclusion.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"Grade A. Emotionally mesmerizing."
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
can't we just all get along?,
By
This review is from: Ajami (DVD)
Since there is no synopsis here, I'll give you the quick rundown before you go off to IMDb to find out more. Basically, the story unfolds in five chapters each of which focuses on following the storyline from the P.O.V. of one character. The whole thing takes place in Ajami (a "slum" in Tel Aviv) and is about how Jews, Christians and Muslims interact with each other, often violently. It mainly involves a gang rivalry but there're cops, community religious leaders, landlords, local merchants, soldiers, restauranteurs, troubled youth, world-weary old dudes, but strangely few central females. Yes, we get the concerned mother, the overworked housewife and the young girl in love with the wrong guy but no meaty roles for women in this one. It's mainly a guy flick.The beauty of the film is also the setting. You get a real feel for life in Israel (reminds me a lot of Belfast and how ordinary folk work their way around the no-go areas) and it's eye opening if this is any indication of life on the ground and how religious background messes up pretty much everything there. The twists at the end of each chapter will throw you right till the end of the movie. The acting is first-rate (and as you see in the DVD extra making of most of the actors were rookies off the street). Word of warning the pacing is quite slow with bursts of violence. I found it captivating overall but it's in no way shape or form a typical movie. It kind of reminded me of Go without the humor, ecstacy, music or sexual tension but with that same sort of weaving of storylines from different charcaters' points of view.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews) 24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful,
By Robert Byrd - Published on Amazon.com
Since the previous reviewer gave such a good synopsis of this film I will simply say it's a wonderful achievement that's definitely worth your time. Through its various plot lines it reveals several examples of the extremely complex workings of Palestinian society and its troubled intersections with Israeli police. This is not a happy film, but it is engrossing. And might I suggest you stick with it from start to finish, because if you engage in chatter while viewing it, or get up to take a restroom break, you may miss essential elements of the story that will leave you completely in the dark for the remainder of the film (which happened to a friend of mine who accompanied me to a theatrical screening - he took a restroom break for five crucial minutes of the convoluted story and was completely lost when he returned).Finally, the previous reviewer said this film was co-directed by two Israelis, but I was told that one of the directors is Israeli and the other Palestinian (which would make for a far more interesting point-of-view rather than the more singular point-of-view of two Israelis). 16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Israeli film made to date,
By Jon Stevens "Journalist" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: NEW Ajami (DVD) (DVD)
In the genre of the great Brazilian urban films City of God and City Below, and genius Italian neo-realism cinema of Rosselini and DeSica, this is a gripping Israeli neo-realistic crime art film that explores the tensions of life amongest the ethnic melting pot that comprises the population of Israel: Jews, Muslim and Christian Israeli-Arabs. Steering away from Middle East politics for a welcome change, all groups are portrayed with great humanity and understanding played by an excellent cast of non-professional actors trained for this film in a very unique style shown in the Special Features section. Interestingly, these Israeli-Arabs, residents of a Jaffa slum bordering Tel Aviv speak Arabic richly laced with Hebrew words and phrases. Excellent film that I recommend highly. Other than I Love You Rosa, this is probably the best film to come out of Israel, at least in the past 20 years, and it's too bad it didn't win a well deserved Oscar for Best Foreign Film. I loved it both times I saw it: in the theater and on DVD.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Walking the Tightrope,
By Randy Keehn - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: NEW Ajami (DVD) (DVD)
I rented "Ajami" because it was a recent Best Foreign Language Oscar nominee which has been about as good a recommendation as I can think of for a film. "Ajami" lived up to those expectations and then some. The film, as I understand it, is about Palestinians living in or near Israel. I understand from other reviews that this is an Israeli film which gives me pause to consider. I cannot speak to the authenticity of its' portrayal of the different communities so I leave those potential criticisms to more authoritative reviewers. For me, I was drawn into a sense of reality that I readily accepted. In doing so, I was able to truly enjoy "Ajami". Most every character in "Ajami" has their own shortcomings. There are no good guys vs. bad guys although there are some better and some worse. The life style we see in "Ajami" is problematic on many levels and I concluded that revealing these challenges is the purpose of the film. At times there are unfinished issues in the movie while at times there are issues revisited with a twist.The situation regarding Israel and her Arab neighbors is one of the worlds biggest dilemnas. Many offer varied solutions but the reality is that, uless all sides find a way to get along together, there will only be winners and losers. That merely continues the problem. "Ajami" gives me a better focus on the humanity of trying to get by day to day in a powder keg. |
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