Tel Aviv on Fire

"Tel Aviv on Fire" is an instant classic. I didn't think a comedy that revolves around the Israeli/Palestinian conflict was possible but Sameh Zoabi pulled it off. That is not to say that the movie downplays the suffering and struggles of everyday life there, it is clear as day on the screen. But even the darkest of situations requires a sense of humor and perhaps humor can be the first step towards peace.

A fairly lighthearted but insightful look at life of the middle-class in Jerusalem and Ramallah-- as seen by having a Palestinian screenwriter who lives in Jerusalem travel to work in Ramallah and his daily interactions with the Israeli border-patrol chief..

The film is a little slow, and the main character is made out to be a little too dull, however on the whole the film has a charm and addresses a subject rarely broached. It's an interestingly balanced portrayal of the people on both sides caught in the middle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As characters in this film, both the Israeli soldiers and the Palestinian film makers are more human than political agents, and yet both are rooted in their respective historical contexts making it hard to get to the next level of cooperation with each other. The film plays around with alternate narratives.

The film writer/director is actually an Israeli Palestinian, giving the film much authenticity.

The laid back subtle and satirical humor is mostly effective here. Somehow, Sameh Zoab, director and co-writer with Don Kleinman, pulls it off despite all the political turmoil that has encased the region for so long now.

The acting is first rate as well, and I thought the surprise and clever ending enhanced the movie. Overall, quite the engaging surprise with its positive message.

Salam's uncle is the producer of Tel Aviv on Fire, a spy thriller / soap opera aimed at Palestinians but the show is also popular with Israelis (especially women). Salam is hired as dialect coach, but gets promoted to writer after his meddling causes the chief writer to quit. Salam tries to draw on family and friends for inspiration, but falls under the influence of the commander of the checkpoint he has to cross twice daily. The commander helps with script ideas, but pushes for the show to become more pro-Israeli. Meanwhile, his uncle, and the show's backers, have other ideas, trying to deal with their own trauma of Palestinian losses due to the six-day war.

This is an amusing yarn, with Salam being pulled in all directions by people with different agendas, while trying to fill a script and chasing a girl. Good lightweight entertainment from a film with a Palestine / Israel location.

It's a pleasant surprise how a Palestinian film about a very serious issue could be funny at all. But this one pulls it off rather nicely.

The approach to make a film within a film works beautifully in this one. And the result is pure comedy.

The viewer heartily laughs at the seeming incongruity of Salam's situation. He has to cross the border daily to go to the West Bank where he works as a film production assistant and finding himself in a bind one morning after making an innocuous remark to an Israeli border guard. This silly encounter and its immediate outcome changes his life forever.

Kais Nashif is naturally funny as Salam. Yaniv Biton as Assi is credible as the border commander. His interaction with Salam as they finish the script of the soap opera is hilarious. And the ending is a marriage of convenience of sorts. It's one that satisfies extremists on either side of the aisle.

The message of the film is simple: promote the peace when each side listens to the other. Assi thinks so.