Huda's Salon

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer-director Hany Abu-Assad has had two films nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. OMAR (2013) and PARADISE NOW (2005) were both excellent and deserving of such regard. His latest in 'based on true events' from Bethlehem, West Bank in Occupied Palestine. He shows us the intimidating wall around the city and points out the vulnerability of local women.

Reem (Maisa Ebd Elhadi) is in the chair for her appointment with Huda (Manal Awad) at the salon. The banter between the two women shows an obvious connection between a long-time client and her stylist. However, it's the first visit in a while as Reem has recently had a baby, and the infant is along for this appointment. The cheerful conversation comes to an abrupt halt following Huda's shocking actions. This extended take is difficult for us as viewers, as we see the entire thing unfold.

The ultimate betrayal between friends leads to a direct conversation that has Reem grasping for a proper solution and fearing for her life. Huda's actions have placed Reem and her family in imminent danger. Huda has blackmailed Reem into providing information to Israel's Secret Service ... spying on her community. On top of tending to her infant child and worrying about her new perilous situation, Reem is also dealing with a jealous husband at home. Yusef (Jalal Masarwa) thinks his biggest concern is a wife who may be sneaking around on him (she's not), when in fact, the danger is much more severe.

After the initial sequence in the salon, the bulk of the film is a back and forth between Reem desperately trying to save herself and her baby, and Huda being interrogated by Hasan (Ali Suliman), a Palestinian pushing Huda to identify those she has "turned" in the same manner she blackmailed Reem. The contrast between these two concurrent threads is striking. While both are ominous, Huda is exceedingly cool under pressure while Reem is frantic. The reason for the differences: Huda is resigned to her fate, while Reem remains hopeful.

It's The Occupation versus The Resistance, and to be a traitor likely means death. But what to do when blackmailed and caught in a no-win situation? That's Reem's predicament. At the same time, Huda, already a societal outcast as a divorcee, has played her role and fully understands what that means. To ensure we "get" the existence women are living, director Abu-Assad inserts a scene in a clinic where a pregnant woman begs for another test after it's announced she's having another daughter. This perfectly illustrates the value of women caught up in the geopolitical battle between Israel and Palestine.

In theaters and On Demand beginning March 4, 2022.

Certain therapies aim to kill healthy cells as well as the malicious, and in the same manner societies treat their own citizens to horrors while attempting to achieve some good.

Reem, a newlywed with a baby girl, visits her favorite salon where her coffee is spiked and she is blackmailed into providing information on her neighbors for Israel. Soon thereafter, before Reem can decide what to do, her handler is captured by Palestinians. Reem is out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Huda's Salon is the true story of people trying to survive in the walled city of Bethlehem, on the West Bank. Women are especially vulnerable in this society poisoned by betrayal and violence since at least 1967. Who to trust comes down to who people fear the most. The film is enthralling for the truths it reveals about a community that represses itself and where people are compromised in multiple ways. While the acting is not top tier, it is believable. From the director of Paradise Now.

As I watched the movie, I kept thinking about power and powerlessness. The strength of the characters was palpable while the situations they found themselves seemed impossible. The acting was well done and never felt exaggerated. The bonds formed were believable and heartbreaking. I watched the movie with a group interested in learning more about the Palestinian experience and discussed the ways in which women are especially vulnerable in this context. It is an important watch and a story that is not commonly told. Again and again I am struck by how powerful and determined Palestinian women are.

At first the movie seems like a classic tale of women in a town, gossiping and hanging out. Very quickly this movie takes its dark turn and has us all wondering: "what is the truth". The main character is caught between a rock and hard place, and with seemingly no way out takes us along on a journey through the day after the world ended. This movie plainly is a haunting tale of collateral damage.

Our protagonist Reem is powerful, she is a representation of a strong Palestinian mother, who is striped of her options, and her ability to provide safety for her family. There are some amazing murals and shots throughout the film that aid this idea of her being genuine and powerful. As the movie goes on Reem does EVERYTHING she can for the sake of her daughter without even a thought for herself.

While watching this movie we all must ask: "can liars ever believe someone else can be telling the truth"? The truth is such a provocative and fragile thing.

Long live the resistance... From my point of view, as a Palestinian person who lived in a society that believed that the Palestinian situation consisted of being between the jaws of pincers, but the film opened my eyes to the fact that the actions of the resistance are nothing but the product of the occupation and the injustice to which we are exposed. Hani Abu Asaad has once again succeeded in addressing Dramatic of the reality of Palestinian society, in which the more the occupation's crimes increase, the more it adheres to the option of resistance and circumventing it. I did not expect this story to be so complex, but it at least explained something simple through narration and dialogue for those who thought that our situation in the context of this conflict was complicated.