Bethlehem (Yuval Adler, 2013): Israel

Reviewed by Emelie Eriksson. Viewed at AFI Filmfest Hollywood 2013.

If you want a reality check, you should see this Israeli drama/thriller . When you leave the theater I can guarantee that you will appreciate your own life. It is touching and realistic and you will feel for Sanfur (Shadi Mar’i) and what’s he’s going through. Sanfur is a teenage Palestinian who’s brother, Ibrahim (Hisham Suliman), is the leader of Al-Aqsa and is chased by the police. After a suicide attempt in Jerusalem, that Al-Aqsa is behind, things gets more serious and Sanfur ends up in the middle of everything. He’s relationship as an informant with the Secret Service officer Razi (Tsahi Halvevi) gets more complicated since he wants to help his brother but he don’t want to lose contact with Razi since, as you can se under the film, their relationship is more like a father-son relationship.

I watched this movie at the AFI Filmfest in Hollywood. I’ve never heard of it before and didn’t know what to expect considering the plot, the actors etc. Tsahi Halvevi does a great job playing Razi, an Israeli Secret Service officer. He shows a lot of strong emotions and I felt like he’s someone you can count and trust on.

The end of this movie is heartbreaking when Sanfur has to face a bitter reality, it’s either Razi or his family. He is faced with a choice that no one should have to make, especially not a 17 year old boy. The dramatic end made the whole theater hold their breath and when I walked out I could’n believe what I just saw, and that’s the kind of movie you want to see!

The film takes place in a hard environment with a lot of weapons, drugs and poorness. The film is dominated by men and the women are mostly hiding behind closed curtains. The music was dramatic and you knew that something was about to happen. The sound effects from the guns went through my whole body and it almost felt as if I was there in the movie. The director didn’t mean to make a film about the political conflict, but to “zero in on a fem characters at the center of it.” He wants to show the lives of the informers, the wanted ones, and the handlers, to show “what was really going on in a place with so many power centers based on loyalty.”

This film didn’t win seven awards for nothing. There’s a story here that needs to be heard and seen by everyone. The film portrays family relationships,  impossible moral dilemmas and how far you can go to save someone else. This was Yuval Adlers debut which he should be really proud of. Great editing, great acting and a great story!