Best film of the year (so far): Paul Weitz's beautiful, brilliant, moving BEL CANTO

What a surprise is BEL CANTO, the new movie directed by Paul Weitz (and which could hardly be farther away in subject, tone and skill from his first film, American Pie!), with a screenplay adapted by Anthony Weintraub and Weitz from the award-winning novel of the same name by Ann Patchett. Mr. Weitz, shown below, has now directed in so many different genres that he is can certainly not be pigeon-holed -- which is undoubted as he wants it. Still, I would in no way have expected to be this strongly engulfed by and then finally moved -- not to tears; at least, not right away -- to the kind of deep, profound sense of possibility, joy and then loss that the performing arts so rarely provide. (Several hours post-viewing those tears unexpectedly arrived; the movie sticks with me, even now, days after viewing it.)

When we finished the film, my spouse at once remarked how much it reminded him of Our Country's Good, that great play by Timberlake Wertenbaker that had a too-short Broadway run back in 1991. In Bel Canto, the humanizing force, rather than residing, as in the play, in the power of theater, is instead found in music, specifically opera. The result is the same: the bringing together of diverse people and ideas into the kind harmony that progressives so desire, and that those in power so often deliberately prevent.

What genre of a film is Bel Canto? Without giving away much of the wonderfully imagined and executed plot, the movie's a mash-up. Part love story(ies), thriller, social/political critique, art-about-art, terrorism (but by whom?) and lots more, the movie puts you in touch with characters who grow and change, finally becoming as memorable as any you're likely see this year (or for that matter last year or next).

Not having read the novel (which is probably better than the film because novels almost always are), I can only judge this movie. What Weitz and Weintraub especially excel at lies in their ability to create the illusion of time passing both artfully and believably so that everything we see here seems viable, given the circumstances and characters.

That sense of days and weeks passing is vital to the tale's credibility, and it is handled here as well as I've ever seen it. The film has been cast exquisitely, too. Though its lead actors -- Julianne Moore (above) as a world-famous opera singer (we hear Renée Fleming on the soundtrack doing the singing) and Ken Watanabe (at left on poster, top) as an uber-wealthy and successful businessman -- are maybe not the most memorable of the characters, Ms Moore smartly captures both this singer's entitlement and her humanity, while Watanabe's eastern reserve and inscrutability slowly, effectively crumble.

The film's most interesting character -- the likes of which movies so seldom bring to life this well -- belongs to the Japanese translator (beautifully played by Ryô Kase, shown above, center), fluent in several languages, who accompanies Watanabe and discovers so much new about himself during the "siege." Also in the fine international cast are Sebastian Koch (below) as a harried Red Cross worker and Christopher Lambert (in the penultimate photo, below) as a hostage who proves multi-talented.

The "terrorists" are almost equally memorable. There are quite a few of these, and each is brought to fine and specific life with a few smart brushstrokes by actors who make the most of every one of their moments. Especially strong are Tenoch Huerta (as the Commander) and Maria Mercedes Coray, shown at right in the photo at bottom (who plays the young female recruit named Carmen).

The film is full of little ironies, sometimes involving language and translation. One of the richest and funniest is what most unites the film's missing dictator with some of the terrorists in this Latin American country. Of course, it's a telenovela.

As it moves along, the movie takes on almost the quality of a long-hoped-for fantasy -- one into which, from it outset, we know that reality must finally intrude. Until then, a wondrous little society is created that may take a permanent place in your mind and heart. TrustMovies found Bel Canto the most beguiling, appealing and finally moving piece of cinema he's seen in a long while. No other film has made him think, feel and care this much about such a diverse set of characters living through such a singular event.

From Screen Media Films (by far the best movie I've yet seen from this particular distributor) and running just 102 minutes, Bel Canto opens this Friday, September 14, in New York City (at the Cinepolis Chelsea) and in Los Angeles (at Laemmle's Monica Film Center). Here in the Miami area, the film opens the following Friday, September 21, at the Bill Cosford Cinema and in the weeks to come will hit another 25 cities and theaters nationwide. To see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters, click here and scroll down.

Amazon/Paramount's TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN series proves the best of the bunch

I thought I'd never want to see another iteration of Jack Ryan -- that Tom Clancy character who has already "graced" (I use the word very loosely) a plethora of middling films, from The Hunt for Red October through Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears (better than middling) and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

And then comes along an entire cable TV series featuring this character back in action and -- what-do-you-know? -- it is, by a long shot, the best of the lot.

TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN, now streaming via Amazon Prime, is a remarkably smart, beautifully-paced eight-episode series that will take you a little over six hours to finish. It is more than worth the time spent. Although the subject is (as usual with Clancy) espionage, war and terrorism (this time Islamic style), what we get here, thanks to showrunners Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland, is a much more nuanced look at Islam, terrorism and its participants -- both the willing and the unwilling -- as well as an extremely exciting, suspenseful and well-written, -directed, acted- and (especially) -plotted tale.

One of the many important things that distinguishes this Jack Ryan offering is the way in which it allows us to see and begin to feel from the perspective of all the participants -- the various governments, police, terrorists and their families -- in short, all the actors on both sides of events. When a particular family (or part of it) is finally rescued from within a huge array of refugees about to take their chance on "boating" across the Mediterranean to possible safety or death, it lingers long and hard on all those refugees left behind, forcing us to at least consider their fate, before moving on to more "adventure."

It also observes important differences between the terrorists and how they treat humanity at large and in particular. While the series comes down, of course, on the side of America and against the terrorists, it does not shy away from letting us see how and why these terrorists evolved. Series star John Krasinski (shown at top and above, left) also makes the best Jack Ryan yet, using his goofy face and sexy body to charm us, even as he helps turn his character into something as finely nuanced as is the series itself.

Wendell Pierce (above) provides his usual sterling support as Ryan's new boss; Abbie Cornish (below) is fine as his maybe girlfriend; Ali Suliman (bottom, right) makes a worthy and sometimes extremely frightening and real villain; and Dina Shihabi (bottom, left) is alternately delicate and iron-spined as the wife who must makes a sudden and permanent life choice.

Best of all is how speedy and smart are the many fine action scenes. The directors, who include Patricia Riggen and Daniel Sackheim, and the writers (six of them) don't waste our time but instead cut to what's important, over and over again. There is barely any scene here that is overlong. The series left me extremely satisfied and ready for more. Which we'll get eventually via Season Two.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan streams now via Amazon Video, where it is free to Prime members.

WEST OF THE JORDAN RIVER: Amos Gitai's further exploration of Israel and Palestine

He's been doing this for quite some time. With 62 credits under his belt, writer-director-documentarian Amos Gitai has been tackling the fraught question of the creation of the state of Israel and the yet-to-be-created (in our modern era) state of Palestine, along with so many other questions involved in Jewish and Arab life, for 44 years now. And yet the world -- especially that section of the middle east known as The West Bank, the Gaza Strip and certain other surrounding locations -- seems no closer to Middle east/Israel-Arab peace than 70 years ago when the state of Israel came into being.

Mr. Gitai, shown above, who gave us the 2016 amazement Rabin, the Last Day, now turns his attention to the continuing struggle for Arab rights in (what is now) the state of Israel. His new film, WEST OF THE JORDAN RIVER, is a kind of series of video (or, for the older examples, filmed) "snapshots" of interviews with various individuals or groups mostly working toward peaceful and fair solutions to the conflict. It chronicles these from at least 1994 onward till very recently.

We see and hear Rabin, of course, and realize all over again what a huge loss this leader's assassination meant to the peace process. We also witness an interview with Arabs in Gaza from 1994 and watch in surprise as they single out Yasser Arafat as a traitor and betrayer for his attempt at working toward peace.

More current and unsettling, however, are the little interviews to which we're privy that involve everyone from young Arab men to a not-yet-adolescent Arab boy, above, who speaks with great desire and expectation of becoming a martyr. Gitai tries to help the boy see perhaps some other possibilities. But no, nothing can compare to this one!

We see a clip of the fine organization Breaking the Silence and, about a half-hour in, we meet an Israeli journalist who offers up the most damning and difficult things regarding Israel's expected and far too immediate future. Parents -- both Palestinian and Israeli (shown at bottom)-- who have lost their children to this violence bond and share their sorrow in one of the documentary's strongest scenes, and when Gitai speaks with a group of Arab men, it may remind you of similar discussions from the recent doc, In the Land of Pomegranates.

We hear from Knesset members, past and present -- one pro-peace, the other (to my mind, at least) sleazily pro-Israeli dominance at any cost. Then, finally and most surprisingly, we meet a couple of "settlers" (below) who -- oh, my god -- seem to actually want peace. The movie is definitely weighted toward peace and justice, for all the good that would seem to be doing at this point in history.

One of the most unfair and unnecessary injustices is shown us in a scene involving a hugely helpful and quite necessary school for Bedouin children (below) that the "settlers" are trying to close down. While there is not a whole lot here that hasn't been seen, heard or considered at some point along the way, Gitai's doc makes clear that it remains absolutely necessary to keep trying to bring an end to the injustice and violence that has plagued Israel/Palestine over the past half century and longer.

The movie closes with shots of a lovely carousel spinning around, and with an event that includes food, music and dance and brings together Arabs and Israelis. But just as with climate change, and as that journalist mentioned earlier points out, for the state of Israel there is but ten years -- at best -- remaining before the "point of no return" has been reached.

From Kino Lorber and running just 88 minutes, West of the Jordan River opens tomorrow, Friday, January 26, in New York City at the new Quad Cinema.

Elsewhere? I would hope so, but according to the film's web site, no further playdates around the country seem to be scheduled., Eventually, one hope we'll be able to see the film via streaming and DVD.

Home-grown terrorism, French-style, in Nicolas Boukhrief's thriller, MADE IN FRANCE

Although made in 2014 and released (in France) in 2015, the new thriller/melodrama MADE IN FRANCE, co-written (with Eric Besnard, of the glorious Ca$h) and directed by Nicolas Boukhrief, appears mostly to be, as they say, "ripped from recent headlines" -- particularly those regarding home-grown terrorism in full swing. The film is an effective look at terrorism from several angles: journalism, anti-terrorist law enforcement, and the terror cell itself, as well as from the POV of all the various characters caught up in this hugely troubling scenario.

M. Boukhrief, shown at left, does an excellent job of compressing time, information and character into a sleek 89 minutes of fast-paced storytelling, in which we meet a journalist named Sam (Malik Zidi, shown below, and recently seen in The Assistant) who has managed to involve himself covertly with a terrorist cell in which, before he can extract himself or alert the authorities, he suddenly becomes a functioning (and violent) part. This unfortunately leaves him open to blackmail by those authorities who need him to remain under-cover to help them prevent further atrocities. The slippery slopes here grow greasier by the moment.

Cast exceptionally well with actors who seem quite right for their roles (and fill them to the brim), the movie functions as exciting entertainment, as well as a heavy-duty and all-too-timely warning about the threat of fundamentalism gone increasingly haywire.

It also allows us to see the varying standpoints of these "brothers" in arms (above), as well as that of their frighteningly insistent leader (played with intense strength and a certain reserve by Dimitri Storoge, center left, above). Their differing beliefs control the thinking and functionality of these men, and as those beliefs are of varying depth, they make the actions of our guys, and therefore the tale being told, full of small surprises that add increasingly to the complications on view.

The distaff side is represented by the beauteous and striking Nailia Harzoune, as the woman belonging to the cell leader, and this character proves pivotal to what finally takes place.

If the movie sorts itself out a little too conveniently, at least it does so with finesse and excitement, leaving us to ponder anew the prospects of both widespread group-terrorists acts in our western nations, as well as those simple-but-deadly, one-off jobs.

From Distrib Films US and Under the Milky Way, Made in France will make its debut, tomorrow, Tuesday, December 13, on all major VOD platforms in the United States, including iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Comcast, Charter, and Vudu. 

Watch out! Bernie Olaf/The Strasson Group's ghosts-&-evil-spirits 'documentary,' WARX2

Perhaps you've heard of the many, many military suicides stemming from our recent, aged and likely-forever-more wars in the middle east? And, if you follow the news, you'll have also heard of how mid-east terrorist groups --  Al-Qaeda to ISIS -- are recruiting western-world youngsters to perform various terrorist acts. Guess what? These are not results of Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder (PTSD) in the first instance, or in the second, of old-fashioned brainwashing on the uneasy and pliable minds of our young. No. It's all because of ghosts and evil spirits.

That's right. And the movie under examination here, WARX2 via a fellow named Bernie Olaf and The Strasson Group -- yes, do click on that link and then try to learn more about the "group." Clearly, they don't want you to be able to do this -- is hellbent on convincing us that all these military suicides (and young suicide bombers) are simply suffering from the effects of ghosts and evil spirits (often lumped together here under the moniker of "jinn"). I don't know about some of these brainwashed kids currently in the hands of ISIS, but certainly those men and women who have fought for our country and now exhibit PTSD deserve better than this nitwit movie for help and explanation.

Warx2 gives us plenty of statistic -- if nothing remotely resembling evidence -- but those statistics have more to do with how many continents and countries exist on earth -- hardly earth-shaking evidence of anything beyond simple geography. So where does any proof of Olaf's thesis come in? How is this brainwashing going on? To answer this, we get an explanation of the brain and the heart and other body parts. So? As for the ghosts, we begin with a single silly anecdote told by a guy who works in a club bar and claims to have seen them. I kid you not.

This is followed eventually by remarks from witch doctors and other men and women who make claims, offering nothing remotely like evidence. Can PTSD really be coupled to spiritual warfare? "Absolutely," declares our Brit-accented narrator, "if you are not rooted in Christ." Uh-oh.

Yes, indeed: What we have here turns out to be one big, fat (two-hour-and-three-minute), pompous, lamebrained commercial for god. At one point we get a complete run-down of all of Moses' commandments, later a partial rendition of The Lord's Prayer, and then, at movie's end, around ten very long minutes of non-stop prayer, in which the same prayer -- "I am asking you, almighty god, please punish all the satan and evil spirits who enter my..." (this same prayer is repeated over and over, first using arms, then legs, then chest, mind, heart, toes, you name it). Following this, we get a new prayer, repeated ad nauseum, using mostly similar body parts, and one brand new one, of which the upcoming is my favorite.  I quote verbatim: "I am asking you, almighty god, please flush and blow all the satan and evil forces from my inside nose."

I think by now, you'll  be able to decide if this is the documentary for you. There is finally something almost childlike, if not utterly childish, about the whole endeavor. Along the way, we're told how "god works just like a bank." If so, the big guy clearly knows little about the machinations of our current banking system.

And yet we're told that god is more dependable that any government and more reliable that anything else on earth. To which my agnostic self rolls his eyes and says, "Tell that to all those, down the centuries, who've died thanks to religion."

Along the way, we're also told that evil spirits can even change the outcome of important soccer games. (And here we've been imagining that this had to do instead with FIFA and all that graft and corruption.) Everything and everyone -- from the military psychiatrist who went on a killing spree to the underwear and shoe bombers hoping to being down airplanes -- were actually under the spell of evil spirits.

The movie's "ace-in-the-hole," however, would appear to be that it provides ways to prevent one's body and soul being taken over by these "jinn." How? Prayer before bedtime (of course), along with avoiding jokes (yes!), avoiding being sad, avoiding Facebook (I'd have to agree with that one on general principle), and -- my favorite -- using bacon and its grease to protect against evil spirits. Gheesh: What's a poor Jew to do?

The movie is actually a not-very-well-concealed call to arms against you know who. As if to counter this, the narrator tells us: "Don't stereotype people, but assume all people, especially Africans and Arabs, use spirits and jinn"  Hello, asshole: don't you realize you are stereotyping even as you speak these stupid words?

Presidents Obama (for whom I personally have little liking or respect) and George W. Bush (whom I would like to see imprisoned for his and his underlings' criminal acts that took us via lies and deception into illegal war) are shown to supposedly understand -- via some cherry-picking of their statements and actions -- all this "jinn" stuff.

Aside from all of the above, how does WarX2 stack up as a piece of filmmaking? Very badly. It's repetitive, telling us the same information over and over, as well as showing us many of the same ordinary visuals again and again. And, since no evidence is offered of anything that would be used in a genuine documentary, let alone stand up in a court of law, all we get is a sermon-in-disguise that does not belong in a movie theater nor even in most churches -- at least those that I'm familiar with.

WarX2 is, however, getting some theatrical play -- in Texas -- at two Alamo Drafthouse theaters: in Houston and Katy, beginning Friday, June 26. More theaters will be added soon, it is claimed.  For a different "take" on this movie, and one with which that I thoroughly disagree, you can check out the blog of one of my compatriots, Avi Offer, the NYC Film Guru. You can read his thoughts on the film by clicking here.

Note: There are no photographs above, 

save one of the poster image, because I could 

find nothing available. And I don't have time, nor does 

the movie merit it, to crib images from its preview trailer.

Again, as with its About the Strasson Group empty page, 

the film's web site pretends to have a gallery of images, 

but when you click on it, you get nothing.

Argo--for real--in Drew Taylor/Larry Weinstein's smashing documentary, OUR MAN IN TEHRAN

For any of you who were impressed with the Oscar-winning Argo a couple of years back (or even for those, like me, who thought that film was overdone and way over-rated), here comes a new documentary that will shed a lot of light on the story of some of those American hostages held captive by Iran some 35 years ago. Coincidentally 35 minutes shorter than its overblown narrative counterpart but packed to the gills with smart history, plenty of background, and many of the same people who were involved at the time, OUR MAN IN TEHRAN, directed by Drew Taylor and Larry Weinstein and written by Taylor and Robert Wright, is actually a kind of homage to Ken Taylor (shown on poster, above, two photos below as he looks today, and at bottom, back in the day), Canada's former ambassador to Iran, and the man most responsible for the safety and rescue of a handful of the hostages.

Perhaps the most important thing that filmmakers Taylor and Weinstein (shown above, right and left, respectively) accomplish is to give viewers a much-needed look at the kind of state Iran was prior to the abdication of the infamous Shaw and the coming to power of Khomeini. Taylor and Weinstein show us what kind of police state, complete with heavy-duty imprisonment, torture and murder the Shaw ran in order to suppress any dissenting voices. (They don't, unfortunately, tells us of the American- and British-led coup that overthrew the democratically-elected regime of Mohammad Mosaddegh and placed the Shaw back in power.)

Still, what's here gives us plenty of understanding as to why Iran desperately wanted and needed regime change toward a more just and equal society. What they actually got was something else, and that has been the story of Iran in the three decades since. The talking heads, many of them from Canada, assembled by the filmmakers, give us a smart, crisp and pungent look at Iranian society taken over by the "elite" and wealthy class. "There were bars (serving alcohol) in a country in which people didn't drink!" Notes another: "People are always happy to ban pleasures that they themselves cannot afford."

We even hear from the Shaw himself, as he explains, "There are many more things which united us with our American friends than divide us." Hello, oil! (Not to mention torture, imprisonment and death.)  There is real history here, from people who are as close to the term "experts" as you might want. And then we learn that no less than President Carter himself did not want to allow the Shaw, now diagnosed with cancer, to be allowed into the United States for treatment. This was most likely the single thing that sent Khomeini and the fundamentalists over the brink and led to the hostage-taking (above and below), yet all of Carter's advisers insisted on allowing this.

Later, and as soon as Ronald Reagan took the Presidential reins, Khomeini (in the photo, below) offered a further slap in the face to Carter by releasing the remaining hostages. (There has long been speculation that Reagan was doing behind-the-scenes dealings for their release even before he took over.)  In Canada, we see a sneering Trudeau, who, out of courtesy and respect, had been told about the hostage situation, and still played dirty politics with it. What a little media-crazy slut he was!

When we get to the actual plans for the hostages' exfiltration -- the Argo/Hollywood connection -- despite what we already know, the filmmakers manage to pack some suspense, a lot of humor and even a little surprise into the mix. Most of all, they give us something a hell of a lot closer to the truth of the situation than Argo offered, with its fake, last-minute, will-they-make-it? nonsense.

As we're smartly reminded at the documentary's close, "President Carter put the hostage's well-being above his own, and that's not typical of the actions of most senior politicians. You have to give him credit for that." Indeed. Can you even remotely imagine President Obama doing anything such thing -- not to mention that war-mongering idiot George W. Bush -- or any of the current would-be Republican candidates?

From First Run Features, the film opens today, Friday, May 15, in New York City at the Cinema Village, and then hits Wilmette, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Cleveland in the weeks and months to come.

To see all currently scheduled playdates, with cities and theaters shown, click here. 

Erik Poppe's 1,000 TIMES GOOD NIGHT tackles art, death, sacrifice, family, career and more....

...and the best thing about this movie is that it does not cheat or trivialize any of the subjects it touches. That the film deals especially with what we might call terrorist bombings (while the bombers themselves would undoubtedly call it freedom fighting) makes 1,000 TIMES GOOD NIGHT an especially fraught experience. When it is good, which is often, it is superb, and even at the times in which the movie lessens, it is never less than worthwhile. It is also one of the most serious and moving films about sacrifice that I have ever seen.

The Norwegian filmmaker, Erik Poppe (shown at right), a few years back gave us the excellent Troubled Water, and his new film is a fine follow-up. It stars the nearly always terrific Juliette Binoche as Rebecca, a famous war photographer and a woman considered among the best in her field who loves and understands her work and what it means and why she does it about as well as she possibly can. That she is married and has two children, whom she sees too seldom, is the point upon which the movie turns. Her husband, played by the hot and talented Danish actor, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (in the second and third photo below, and at bottom, left), has determined, after the shocking event that begins the film, that his wife must finally choose between her family and the ever-possibly-fatal career she pursues.

Mr. Poppe allows us to view Rebecca in the midst of the most dangerous parts of her work, and we see that she does it very well. She does not love it, exactly; rather, she experiences it as a necessity to help this dangerous world in which we live.

We can also understand the feelings of her family members. There are no villains here, not even -- and this is the film's most miraculous effect -- those people with bombs planted on their person, ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. (I could have done without the candle-lit balloon lift off, below, but that's a minor quibble.)

In order to bring mom and elder daughter closer together, a trip to Africa (don't worry, they are told: It's a safe location) is planned. The result of this brings the film to its climax and proper close. Nothing goes quite as planned, but neither do things dissolve. Rather, the events that happen seem appropriate and important, and the decisions made are reached via genuinely felt and understood experience.

I think Mr. Poppe is one of our better directors -- interested in what is happening in our world and why, and what is to be done about it. If possible. He gets fine performances from his entire cast (Ms Binoche is, as always, sterling), and best of all, he addresses our world honestly, effectively, and without rancor or any of the feel-good cheating that is the hallmark of so many of our movies.

1,000 Times Good Night -- a Norway/Ireland/Sweden co-production released here by Film Movement -- opens theatrically this Friday, October 24, in New York City at the Quad Cinema and in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Royal, among other major cities now, and in the weeks to come. You can view the entire list of currently scheduled playdates, with cities and theaters, by clicking here and then scrolling down.

Note: At NYC's Quad Cinema, director Erik Poppe will be present for a Q&A following the 7:30 show on Friday 10/24. In L.A., at the Royal theater, director of photography John Christian Rosenlund will participate in a Q&A at after the 7 PM screening on Friday, October 24, while the film's director/co-screenwriter Eric Poppe will participate in a Q&A after the 7 PM screening on Wednesday, October 29.

Best Foreign Language Film nominee, OMAR from Hany Abu-Assad, opens in New York and L.A.

Last time we heard from Palestinian film-maker Hany Abu-Assad, it was heralding his fine Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated movie Paradise Now from 2005. He's back this year with yet another Oscar nod for his newest film OMAR, which has also been nominated for and won some prestigious awards. If it does not quite come up to the level of his earlier film, it is still very good and very much worth view-ing, as it demonstrates the culpability of both today's Israel in keeping Palestinians enchained, and the youth of Palestine's insistence on overthrowing Israeli rule by any means necessary.

Interestingly enough, you can side with whichever group you choose and probably still find that this film works for you. It isn't so much that Mr. Abu-Assad (shown at left) is being completely even-handed. No. All the Israelis shown here range from disgusting downwards, yet the Palestinians we see seem to exist in a culture so thoroughly secretive and backward that as much as we might like to root for the film's would-be lovers, the titular Omar and his Nadia, their characters and actions, not to mention those of their peers, keep getting in the way. The filmmaker, who both wrote and directed Omar, has first and foremost concocted a love story, which he then fills with all the elements of a mys-tery thriller. The movie does not jump genres; it consistently exists as a kind of blending of them. I think Hitchcock might have been proud of this one. Even if it offers little of the master's command of visual technique, it offers a plethora of surprising plot machinations and manipulations.

Through it all, what holds the film together is the performance of its star, the titular Omar, played with a riveting combo of heartache and strength by Adam Bakri (above). His lady love, not yet out of school and also the sister of his childhood friend, is played with girlish wonder and perhaps a hint of possible perfidy, by Leem Lubany (below).

Abu-Assad uses simplicity and naivete, together with the charm and beauty of his two young actors, to help us initially believe in this love story. I wish he might have deepened the couple's relationship a bit more; as it is, he manages to pull us in.

Around these two sweethearts orbit her brother Tarek (Iyad Hoorani, above) and their mutual friend Amjad  (Samer Bisharat, below, left), who has his own romantic interest in Nadia.

Once the terrorism/liberation plot is put in motion, we finally meet the Israeli agent named Rami (Waleed Zuaiter, below), who initially presents a kindlier face of Israel.  Who is using who and to what end is a question the movie asks over and over.

After betrayals, expected and not, we finally learn the answer and -- once our shock has subsided -- cynicism kicks in big-time. The ending is as satisfying as possible under these circumstances.

Unlike the excellent Israel/Palestine film, Mars at Sunrise (released a couple of weeks back) and more like last year's dark and probing The Attack, this one offers little in the way of hope. In fact, its nomination as Best Foreign Language Film may surprise you, but it is, as usual, unlikely to win. Just as nominees over the past decade, Ajami and Paradise Now, failed to bring home the Oscar, so I predict, will Omar. Right now, it appears to be all that the Academy can do is to honor Palestine with a nomination now and then.

Meanwhile, Omar -- released here via Adopt Films and running just 96 minutes -- opens this Friday, February 21, in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Royal, Playhouse 7, Town Center 5 and Claremont 5, and in New York City at the Angelika Film Center and the Lincoln Plaza Cinema. In the weeks to come the film will open across the country. To view all currently playdates, cities and theaters, click here and then click on View Theaters & Showtimes.