Bethlehem (Yuval Adler, Ali Waked, 2013): Israel

Reviewed by Sofie Larsson. Viewed at AFI Film Fest, Hollywood 2013.

Yuval Adler’s “Bethlehem” is a touching story about Razi, an Israeli Secret Service officer, and Sanfur, a young Palestinian informant. This thriller is about reliance and betrayal, the characters are torn apart in crude ways by loyalties and impossible moral dilemmas. The story show the conflict in the Middle East, between Israel and Palestine. I watch the film at AFI film festival in Hollywood and was captured by the Actors Thashi Halevi (Razi) and Shadi Mar’I (Sanfur) incredibly empathy, they had a perfect presence. I loved the movie and I’m sure that I wasn’t the only one who where blown away during it. Therefore I recommend you to watch this film, you’ll enjoy it.

The wise and clever Agent Razi tries to find the coordinator for suicide bombing inside Israel, Ibrahim, a local hero, who seems impossible to find. For years, Razi, had talked to Ibrahim’s little brother, Sanfur, and while he was trying to caught his brother he also build up a lasting father-son band with him. When Sanfur has to go to the hospital, after a shouting game with his friends, Razi comes and threat him like his own son. Later in the movie, Razi finds out through one other informant that Sanfur is the person who delivers money to Ibrahim. Razi, who spends more time with Sanfur, than his own kids and wife, feels betrayed and therefore gives Sanfur a “better phone” that he had put a GPS-transmitter in. When Sanfur is supposed to deliver the next amount of money to his brother, Rafi still cares to much to let him got cough. Through psychological submitted words, the good Agent lurks Sanfur out of town and goes after Ibrahim. Easier said than done, the neighbors’ throws rocks at the coops and everyone refuse to help them find Ibrahim. At last, they forced one cancer sick women to tell them where Ibrahim is hiding. When Sanfur finds out that Razi had tricked him, he feels shamed and abused. He had betrayed his own brother, Bethlehem hero. He calls Razi and tells him, with anger in his voice, that he is a liar and that he can’t contact him again. He throws the phone in the grand, breaks it with his foot and starts working with his brothers’ companion Badaw. Even consider the fact that Sanfur is Ibrahim brother, Badaw don’t trust him and finds out what he has done. Sanfur confessed everything and because he only was 15 years old when the Israel Agent contacted him, Badaw decided to give him one last change. Sanfur has to kill Razi, even though the fact that he is like a father for him.

Bethlehem is a drama thriller about good cops and armed criminal gangs. The coops apartment has very simple and limit amount of furniture while the criminal gangs hang out in a rich environment with red elegant sofas, boost and cigarettes. It really reflexes how much money and power the criminal gangs has, while the coops working their ass off for almost nothing in return, the gangs just walks around with their big guns around their shoulder and has the power to do what ever they want, without consequences.  The actors in this movie, did a really great job, together with concrete environment, they really mad the movie trustworthy and realistic.

As I said in the beginning, I loved this movie. It was Yuval Alders’ first movie and he clearly made it with confident. Just watch it, old as young, it’s worth your time. Because Adler will give you an stunning insight into this Middle East political drama in an interesting and enjoying way.