drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
Evelyne Brochu
Evelyne Brochu (born November 17, 1982) is a Canadian actress. In 2013, she became well known for her English-speaking role as Delphine Cormier, a French scientist on the hit Canadian science fiction thriller TV series '' Orphan Black.''
Early l ...
as Chloé, a Canadian medical doctor with the Red Crescent. Splitting her time between her clinic in Ramallah,
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, Chloé finds her loyalties torn as she witnesses the effects of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israelis ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵלִים, translit=Yīśrāʾēlīm; ar, الإسرائيليين, translit=al-ʾIsrāʾīliyyin) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Je ...
on her friends, colleagues and patients on both sides of the border. At the
1st Canadian Screen Awards
The 1st Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 3, 2013, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2012.Best Motion Picture.
Plot
A street cafe in Israel is bombed. Chloé (
Evelyne Brochu
Evelyne Brochu (born November 17, 1982) is a Canadian actress. In 2013, she became well known for her English-speaking role as Delphine Cormier, a French scientist on the hit Canadian science fiction thriller TV series '' Orphan Black.''
Early l ...
) is a young Canadian
obstetrician
Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surg ...
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
, but lives in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. Her Israeli friend Ava, who is a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, lives in the same building. While commuting by bus between her apartment and Ramallah, Chloé passes through checkpoints on a daily basis. One of Chloé's patients is a pregnant Palestinian woman named Rand ( Sabrina Ouazani), whose husband Ziad is in an Israeli prison awaiting trial. Chloé also befriends Rand's older brother Faysal (
Yousef Sweid
Yousef "Joe" Sweid ( ar, يوسف سويد, he, יוסף "ג'ו" סוויד; born 22 June 1976) is an Arab-Israeli actor and dancer.
Early and personal life
Yousef Sweid was born in Haifa, Israel, to a Christian-Arab family. He is a graduat ...
), younger brother Safi (Hammoudeh Akarmi), and mother Soraïda (Zorah Benali). Faysal works at a print shop that produces Palestinian propaganda posters.
After gunmen open fire on the nearby Beit Shomron Israeli settlement wounding two civilians, Israeli soldiers round up and question the men in the refugee camp. Back in Jerusalem, Ava confides in Chloé about her unease with the dehumanizing aspects of checkpoint duty but is unable to quit her job. Later, Chloé spends time with Rand and Safi, who are rummaging for supplies in a rubbish dump near the
separation barrier
A separation barrier or separation wall is a barrier, wall or fence, constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to separate peoples or cultures. A separation barrier that runs along an internationally recogn ...
. One of the local children tries to attack an armored Israeli truck but is run over and killed. The boy is later lauded as a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
during a funeral procession.
The boy's death has an effect on Chloé and she confronts Ava about the disproportionate attention given by the Israeli authorities towards the settlement shooting. Ava is defensive and responds that the two settlers were seriously wounded. While spending time with Faysal and Rand's family in Ramallah, Chloé learns about the effects of the Israeli military occupation. As their friendship grows, Chloé becomes more sympathetic to her Palestinian hosts and helps Faysal plaster propaganda posters.
Chloé also convinces Ava to issue Faysal and Rand's family with a travel pass to visit Soraïda's ruined former village. While Soraïda is grateful, Faysal is bitter towards Chloé for reminding them of what his family has lost. Later, Chloé and Ava visit a night club in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
. The following morning, Chloé learns that Rand has entered into labor and rushes back to Ramallah. Chloé and her Palestinian hosts try to reach a local hospital but are obstructed by an
Israeli checkpoint
An Israeli checkpoint ( he, מחסום, ''mahsom'', ar, حاجز, ''hajez''), is a barrier erected by the Israeli Security Forces, primarily today part of the system of West Bank closures in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The checkpoints ar ...
. As a result, Rand is forced to give birth at the back of their van and her infant son dies.
Rand is distraught by the loss of her son and news that her husband Ziad has been sentenced by an Israeli military court to a 25-year term. Rand is bitter towards Chloé and blames her for the death of her child. A guilt-ridden and dejected Chloé returns to Jerusalem. Chloé crosses the checkpoint carrying a backpack which is delivered to a man in a bus. Later on, a
suicide attack
A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout history ...
takes place in a crowded street cafe; tying the climax to the exposition. Following the attack, Chloé visits Faysal's photocopying shop in Ramallah and learns that Rand had perpetrated the suicide bombing and become a "shahid." While Chloé reads Rand's farewell letter, the denouement is interspersed with footage of Safi playing by the separation barrier and imagining a growing tree.
Cast
Production
Director Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette submitted the screenplay to micro_scope producers Kim McCraw and Luc Déry, with McCraw saying she and Dery were initially reluctant to take on a second complicated project in the Middle East after ''
Incendies
''Incendies'' (; "Fires") is a 2010 Canadian drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the screenplay with Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's play of the same name, ''Incendies'' stars Lubna Azabal, Mélissa ...
'' (2010), but the issue in the screenplay was important enough that it should not be ignored. McCraw personally went to
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Ri ...
to work on the film.
Reception
University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin (german: link=no, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany.
The university was established by Frederick Will ...
film scholar Claudia Kotte wrote the film, along with ''
Incendies
''Incendies'' (; "Fires") is a 2010 Canadian drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the screenplay with Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's play of the same name, ''Incendies'' stars Lubna Azabal, Mélissa ...
'' (2010), ''
Monsieur Lazhar
''Monsieur Lazhar'' is a 2011 Canadian French-language drama film directed by Philippe Falardeau and starring Mohamed Saïd Fellag, Sophie Nélisse and Danielle Proulx. Based on ''Bashir Lazhar'', a one-character play by Évelyne de la Chene ...
'' (2011) and ''
War Witch
''War Witch'' (french: Rebelle) is a 2012 Canadian dramatic war film written and directed by Kim Nguyen and starring Rachel Mwanza, Alain Lino Mic Eli Bastien and Serge Kanyinda. It is about a child soldier forced into a civil war in Africa, an ...
'' (2012), represent a break in the Cinema of Quebec from focus on
local history
Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...
to global concerns. Authors Gada Mahrouse, Chantal Maillé and Daniel Salée wrote McCraw and Déry's films, ''Incendies'', ''Monsieur Lazhar'' and ''Inch'Allah'', depict Quebec as part of the
global village
Global village describes the phenomenon of the entire world becoming more interconnected as the result of the propagation of media technologies throughout the world. The term was coined by Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan in his books ' ...
and as accepting minorities, particularly Middle Easterners or "Muslim Others".
Accolades
Barbeau-Lavalette was named artist of the year for 2012 by Les Artistes pour la paix, a
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
Radio-Canada
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...