Omar

A film set in the West Bank. Omar is a baker. To see his two friends on the other side of the wall he climbs it each time; he throws a rope, goes up, comes down. Nadia is from that side. She is Tarek's sister and Omar wants to marry her; their relationship is kept secret. The three friends plan an action. Fire is opened on a checkpoint and a soldier is killed. Omar is caught. A method is used in the prison. Someone who speaks his language is put in the cell and behaves as a prisoner; Omar talks and what he says is recorded. Rami brings an offer. He will be released, and he will hand over whoever pulled the trigger. He accepts. From there the film turns into a story about trust dissolving. Nobody believes anybody, everyone thinks the other is the informer, and the friendship comes apart on that suspicion. What the narrative is interested in is not occupation but contamination: what the film really shows is how a system uses people against one another. Nadia's line hurts most. Omar's suspicion spreads to her and she pays for it having done nothing. The wall scene repeats. The same climb occurs at three separate points and the man's condition is different each time. The production was financed entirely from Palestinian sources and was nominated for the Academy Award for foreign film. Adam Bakri, Waleed Zuaiter, Leem Lubany and Samer Bisharat are in the cast. Hany Abu-Assad wrote and directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes films that take their tension from political ground. Who it is not for: anyone looking for a clear hero; everyone betrays someone at some point and the ending is merciless.