West Bank Story

This parody of "West Side Story" has a fabulous opening which I suppose would be even more hilarious to anyone who is familiar with the 1961 movie. Not ever watching that film, except for a few clips, I couldn't appreciate the parody in here. However, humor is humor and good singing is good singing and there is a lot of both in this 21-minute short. Considering the topic, it is not a shock it won the Academy Award for Best Short Film/Live Action in 2006.

Simply put, we have competing fast-food restaurants on the West Bank: one Jewish, one Arabic. You have the "Kosher King" eatery on one side and the "Hummus Hut" on the other. Some of the signs in each establishment are clever ("The Chosen Restaurant") and some of lyrics sung by the "help" will make you laugh. There almost is too much to digest in a short period. One would have to view this several times to get all the jokes in the first few minutes.

Unfortunately, the rest of the film - the bulk of it - can't match that fantastic beginning. Things settle down when the romantic songs start and the rest of the story is romance and "peace" between the two long-time enemies. It gets very cliché-like and predictable.....too much so, to the point of being sappy.

I was fortunate to have seen this film at the Santa Cruz Film Festival this year and it was fantastic!! Humor, political satire, song, what's not to love? I was especially impressed with the quality of the writing - very sharp and funny- and the acting and film-making overall. Really well done and thoroughly entertaining. I expected to see some familiar names in the credits, say Spielberg or some such, but was surprised to learn it was a student film from USC. Top notch production quality and talent. The story line was so true to the Shakespearean plots in Romeo and Juliet (and West Side Story) but with a modern twist and sensibilities. Very timely political spin on the tensions of the West Bank. I will be looking for this on DVD as well as watching for new projects from this creative team. A must see!

Strange that West Bank Story didn't live up completely to my expectations, but then again I only knew about the film- and anticipated it- from the five second clip shown during the Oscars (right before it won), with a high crane shot showing a bunch of Israelis and Palestinians dancing in the street. It was something out of left field among the nominees, and it gave me and those watching the Oscars a big belly laugh. Unfortunately the actual 22 minute short film only contains some scattered laughs, and doesn't go so much for outrageous political satire as much as lighter skewering of the two sides in a simple context: fast-food. West Bank Story gives us the two chains- Hummus Hut and Kosher King- each with their own wacky decorum (Hummus Hut with their kebab-hats, and the one employee at Kosher King in a large menorah costume, the latter being maybe the funniest sight gag), and equal hatred for the other.

A plot is hatched by Kosher King to build a wall ("Jews in construction?" is the Hummus Hut's response), while the other plots to simply burn down their opponent. But meanwhile, the sister-employee of the head of Hummus Hut falls for an Israeli soldier, and the two of them try to get the two sides to stop fighting. Sprinkled throughout this short are some funny moments of cultural lampooning, like hummus being confused with Hamas, and a split-screen during a musical number with Kosher King and Hummus Hut ending in an argument between which side is encroaching on the other. But overall trhe only criticism, however a significant one, is that it's so brief that only so much can be done with the material, and yet the director Sandel and the writers only go after a few specific things, leaving out more scathing possibilities, ala Mel Brooks or other, to go for the jugular with a touchy topic. It's a safe little comedy, but worth watching at least once, with some catchy songs and small winks to the original Wise/Robbins classic.

I wonder what Shakespeare might have made of this, I wonder what Steven Sondheim actually did. An handsome Israeli soldier falls for a gorgeous Palestinian girl and the battles lines are drawn. "Kosher King" v "Hummus Hut" and some rousing anthem singing, nimble dancing and falafel cooking is to settle the dispute. We've even a fiddler on the roof! The rest of the story and characters poke fun at stereotypes galore, the marketing industry and I found it a surprisingly entertaining and ridiculous send-up of political and religious differences set amidst the fantasy of fast food frolics with some cringeworthy rhymes incorporated into the lyric. Even the camel gets a kiss as the romance hots up! This is quite good, satirical, fun.

Ari Sandel was a film student when he directed and co-wrote this amazing short film. Despite this less than impressive pedigree, the film ended up winning the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for 2006 and is among the best shorts I have ever seen--and I've seen a lot!! Considering the title, it wasn't too surprising that this film is a gentle and funny parody of WEST SIDE STORY. However, instead of being set in New York, it's on the West Bank and instead of the Sharks and Jets, the two warring groups are Palestinians and Jews. Despite the seriousness of the problems in Israel and the occupied territories, I was happily surprised that the film was NOT heavy-handed and it was in fact very, very funny. It was a gentle spoof of the problems and hatreds and unless someone is a humorless idiot, there is a lot to love in the film.

Of course there is a girl and a boy (just like in Romeo and Juliet) caught in the struggle--but instead of Capulettes and Montagues or Sharks and Jets, it's a struggle between rival fast food joints--the Kosher King and the Hummus Hut! The hats, the dialog, the songs all work together perfectly to create the mood and pull the viewer into the film.

Not at all surprisingly, this film won the Oscar but I also felt a bit sad for the losers that year, as HELMER & SON and ONE TOO MANY were also amazingly good (and funny) short films.

My advice is to see all of these films--they are included in the DVD "A Collection of 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films"--a must-have for fans of the genre. Also, keep your eye out for Ari Sandel--that guy is going places and I can't wait to see what he does next! 10 out of 10--my very highest rating.