Wednesday, May 07, 2014

OVP: Omar (2013)

Film: Omar (2013)
Stars: Adam Bakri, Samer Bisharat, Waleed Zuaiter, Leem Lubany, Iyad Hourani
Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Oscar History: 1 nomination (Best Foreign Language Film-Palestine)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars




The foreign film category frequently plays host to films that for lack of a better term are relatively forgettable.  This isn’t to say that they are bad, per se, but just aren’t particularly interesting or memorable.  That’s the case with Omar, arguably the least well-known or discussed film nominated for Best Foreign Language film last year.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film plods on familiar territory for anyone who has seen some of the cinema coming out of Palestine in recent years.  The movie is about Omar (Bakri), a man who spends his days in Palestine baking bread and his night plotting the death of armed Israelis with his two friends: the tempestuous Tarek (Hoorani) and the untalented Amjad (Bisharat).  Omar is also hiding his relationship with Tarek’s younger sister Nadia (Lubany).

The film twists quite well, and works probably at its best as a straight-up thriller rather than a political film or commentary on the situation in Palestine.  The movie shifts quite frequently, with Tarek eventually being killed (we later learn in a pre-meditated murder by Amjad) in order for Amjad to marry his sister in one scene, and later we learn that the pregnancy Amjad lied to Omar about, keeping Nadia to himself rather than Omar was completely fabricated, meaning that Omar gave away the woman of his dreams based on faulty information and pride.

The movie’s problem, though, is that the plot seems so thin.  The film works, again, as a thriller, but it’s merely a good thriller and not something that deserves an Oscar nomination.  The acting is all fine, with the incredibly sexy Bakri bringing swagger and charm to the lead role, but it veers into one note, and Lubany’s Nadia in particular lacks any sort of presence.  Is the only reason that these men are fighting over her due to her beauty, and if so, what does that say about them and their devotion to their political cause?  And the ending, almost borrowing from a Quentin Tarantino or Andrew Dominik film, seems to not get the point of everything that came before it, instead hearkening back to a subplot.

The film is from one of the most important Palestinian filmmakers currently working, Hany Abu-Assad, who got his second nomination in the Foreign Language Film category with this movie (the previous was for Paradise Now, which won the Golden Globe but lost with AMPAS to Tsotsi), knows how to make a movie, and I should note that I’d recommend seeing this film.  However, when compared to what this category could bring, I continue to be mystified that Oscar seems to want its “okay” films when there’s something so much more exciting to choose from.

Those were my thoughts on Omar-what were yours?  Do you think the movie is being short-changed by myself?  Where does it rank amongst the nominees?  Share in the comments!

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