I’m not sure if I really loved ‘Amreeka’ or really, really loved it. The new film by Cherien Dabis represents something I thought I would never see on the big screen, at least not during an event I helped organize. And it is so much better than the documentaries I’ve shown simply because it is art, and a beautiful piece of it with a powerfully authentic story, endearing characters and a touch of humor to drive it. It not only deserved all those awards at the various high falutin’ festivals, but should be seen by everyone.
The movie’s main characters, Muna (played by Nisreen Faour) and her son Fadi (Melkar Muallem), leave Bethlehem in the West Bank to join Muna’s sister in Illinois. It is the classic chain-migration pattern with the migrants acting on the notion of an American dream. Unlike too many stories that uphold the dream idea, ‘Amreeka’ plays with it, shows its cracks, as Dabis told me in an interview. Ultimately, her movie shows that even despite anti-Arab hysteria, there is life to be made for Arab immigrants here. However, the movie is much deeper and more complex than this one issue.
They leave the occupied territory of Palestine so that Fadi can have more opportunities, and implicitly, because Muna is tired of seeing her ex-husband and his flashy, younger bride about town. Fadi pushes for it however, suggesting that leaving is “better than being prisoners in our own country.” He asks why she works to pay for private education when there is little he can make of it there.
The real culprit, however, is the Israeli occupation. It makes life for them unbearable. Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint humiliate Fadi after his innocent joke angers them.
Dabis captures artistically the oppressive droll of their checkpoint-blocked commute between Ramallah and Bethlehem, showing how, as Muna later points out, a 15 minute trip takes two hours.
In one checkpoint shot, the camera picks up a child flying a kite in the reflection. It brought to mind the ‘Kite Runner,’ another story that starts with the main characters — a parent and child — fleeing foreign occupation to end up in America (and in both cases migration entails professional demotion).
Muna’s sister, Raghda (Hiam Abbass), lives a suburban life with her husband, a doctor, and three daughters. The film is both about Muna and Fadi integrating into their new home, but also about their ‘new American’ family and their diasporic existence.
Raghda and her husband live as Arabs in America to some degree. Raghda is socially and culturally connected to the homeland and wants to return. Her husband Nabeel is more connected politically; he’s glued to the news in Iraq. They are both stressed that his patients are leaving him because he’s an Arab and the year is 2003, when Iraq was Al-Qaeda in the eyes of many Americans. But he insists that staying is better — and thus the American dream stays in tact, albeit in more sober, purely pragmatic ways.
Their children are genuine, hybrid Arab-Americans, and they face the paradoxes and debates that are so familiar to all of us. In one argument after Salma, their oldest daughter (Alia Shawkat), comes home late, Raghda tells her living in her home is living in Palestine — a line that it or its equivalent is often invoked by immigrant parents against their more assimilated, teenaged offspring. So many Palestinians in the United States have sought to recreate the Palestinian society they left in their homes, often even falling behind social and linguistic developments back home. Dabis does not center on this, but refers to it. And it is just one of many references anyone related to Palestinians — or other immigrants — will get.
The point however is the challenge. Muna is unable to find work equivalent to her position at the bank in Palestine and Fadi cannot find peace from the xenophobic bullies who call him Osama and think he’s Iraqi. Yet, her spirit pushes them forward, and seems to help keep her extended family in tact in these difficult times. To reconcile the problem of economic troubles, Muna, the White Castle employee, helps the doctor pay the mortgage and finds dignity in her menial though probably temporary work (in the sequel I suggested Dabis undertake, Muna will open an Arabic restaurant and Fadi will be in engineering school, despite his dream to go to art school).
It is a touching, and humorous yet serious, portrayal of Israel-inspired Palestinian migration to the United States. The film was obviously done with the care and eye of someone within our — the Palestinian-American — community, yet was carried out with a universal humanity that will speak to many more.
It avoids polemic political diatribes, rather the politics is intrinsic and built-in. Some of the dialogue is delivered mechanicistically, too perfectly and political pampheletesque. But, I do not think it fails or overreaches. Just as someone I spoke to suggested Hiam Abbas overacted, I responded that Arabs tend to overact in real life. Palestinians, by nature, are predisposed to the stump political speech concerning Israel. So it worked.
Only a Palestinian-American could have made this film. Dabis, who’s father is Palestinian and mother Jordanian, refers to her own experience between two worlds, with a hyphenated identity, something Edward Said referred to in his memoirs ‘Out of Place’ as enabling a critical insider-outsider perspective. Such a relation to identity allows her to keenly observe the complex interplay between anti-Arab hysteria and xenophobia, and its opposite, American hospitality. For every bully, there is a redeeming non-Arab figure, such as Muna’s co-worker Matt, whose name translates to “death” in Arabic is a running joke in the film.
Fadi’s principal, who is outed as a Jew in one scene, comes to Fadi’s defense, and shows that Palestinians and Jews are not always at odds. Dabis relishes such cognitive dissonance, as Fadi and Muna are Christian Palestinians, which comes to the surprise of those who assume that Arab = Muslim [incidentally, one of the few members of the US Congress who cared much about the flight of Palestinian Christians from Israel's occupation was then-Senator Henry Hyde (R) from Muna's new home state of Illinois].
Though I don’t think only Palestinians have this cursed inside-outsider vantage, if one can call it that, the experience of displacement, de-development under occupation, and its commensurate indignities make migration a near-necessity — and one intrinsically connected to US foreign policy. The end result is that Palestinian-Americans locate a funny position in the text of American society, a footnote on its foreign policy structure, a by-product of their government’s support for Israel
The film refers to the internal tensions not normally recognized from the outside. Dabis raises the problem of leaving a contested land, of serving the oppressors’ ethnic cleansing agenda through migration — a dilemma many Palestinian migrants struggle with. When Muna and Fadi’s extended family gathers to send them off, someone suggests that Israel wants Palestinians to leave.
In this last point, I would put Amreeka up with the growing body of films that express different Palestinian experiences with Israeli force.
Michel Khleifi’s ‘Wedding in Galilee’ (1987) shows a traditional Palestinian wedding in the first Israeli occupation, that of the Palestinians in the territory Israel conquered. The village Mukhtar negotiates an exemption to the curfew for his son’s wedding; in exchange, he must invite the military officials. They occupy the ceremony through their offensive presence. That same land became part of the absurdist plot of ‘Divine Intervention’ (2002), which shows the disconnect between the Galilee and the West Bank, as well as some fantastic expressions of resistance: from the destructive gaze of a Palestinian beauty to an explosive olive pit. ‘Paradise Now’ (2005) focuses on actual resistance and honor under Israeli occupation, and how Israel’s power corrupts the fabric of society through the exploitation of collaborators and the corrosion of trust. It dealt with a touchy subject, suicide bombing, frankly and won a Golden Globe to show for it.
More recently, a Palestinian-American returns to the holy land to claim what’s rightfully her’s — her family’s appropriated savings account — in Jacir’s ‘Salt of this Sea’ (2008). As with the tragic hero of ‘Paradise Now,’ Soraya takes justice into her own hands. Her partner-in-crime, Emad, like Fadi in ‘Amreeka’ is desperate to leave Palestine.
Palestinian imprisonment and how it skews social life and the ambitions not just of prisoners but their partners is the theme behind ‘Pomegranates and Myrrh’ (2008). It represents a personal struggle, since the imprisonment flows from a conscious decision by the main characters to defend their land against Israeli usurpation.
And the Israeli-directed ‘The Lemon Tree’ (2008) centers on one Palestinian woman’s quest to save her lemon trees from being uprooted by an Israeli minister’s security services. She resists through a steadfast refusal to accept the loss of her family’s grove and fights it through the Israeli courts.
Amreeka stands with this growing body of work: films by Palestinians, or at least sympathetic to their narratives. However, I go back to Raghda’s line about her home as Palestine. Amreeka seems to me to ultimately offer the non-nationalist reality of exile. Whereas land, resistance, compromise and mobility run through the other films as tenets of nation-forming vis-a-vis occupation forces, Amreeka suggests Palestinian life can thrive elsewhere. This is part of the current Palestinian reality, the forgotten diaspora.
I might also add as a comparison, ‘The Visitor’ (2007), which looks at American immigration enforcement against a Palestinian refugee from Syria, and how his unlikely friendship with a humdrum American professor transformed the latter. Like ‘Amreeka,’ this movie shows the difficulties of Arab immigration after September 11, 2001. ‘Amreeka,’ however, is a more direct and richer expression of the particularities of Palestinian statelessness in the Bush era. ‘The Visitor’ was less engaged in representing what makes the Palestinians an exiled people. Ultimately, however, Muna merely works legally at White Castle, while Tarik — who was undocumented — is deported.
In sum, we must support this film to show there is a market for such works, and more will come. We have to back artists like Dabis and the many talented individuals who worked to make this art happen.
If you want to read other reviews of ‘Amreeka’, they are showing up in sources such as the Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, TIME, Detroit News, New York Times and on and on. It is getting good attention but needs audiences to really have the impact it deserves.
The trailer is below. To se it, consult the current list of opening dates and locations.
Related posts:
- Palestinians Can Relate to ‘Inglourious Basterds’
- Philip Rizk Film Showing in NYC
- Guest Post: the ‘Salt of This Sea’ Between Home and Identity
- Hamas Unleashes Jew-Eating Rabbits
- Paradise Now Nominated for Oscar
Wow, thanks Will – that was a great read. Seriously. I can't wait to see this film. What was your involvement?
Posted by SanaKF | September 5, 2009, 5:45 amI was not involved in the film at all. Just a consumer.
The soundtrack, by the way, is terrific. It features Omar Offendum, the Philistines, Narcy, as well as classics like Marcel Khalife.
Will
Posted by KABOBfestWill | September 5, 2009, 12:08 pmGood article:). And agreed, the movie was great, and it was so easy to relate to as an Arab-American.
Posted by Shaza | September 5, 2009, 8:03 amam glad you enjoyed the movie
and thank you for a fascinating article 
melkar muallem
Posted by melkar muallem | September 5, 2009, 8:30 amMelkar,
You did a great job! I hope you keep acting.
Will
Posted by will | September 5, 2009, 5:15 amWell, hope it will arrive to Spain. Really love to watch it.
Thanks for the "discovery".
Posted by Sumud | September 5, 2009, 8:42 amThis has to be one of your best posts. Very well-written and engaging all the way.
Thank you for including just about everything I can think of that could be related to this film, especially the screenings!! Dallas is in the end but I'm still going to go see it!!!
thanks again!
Posted by lena | September 5, 2009, 1:53 pmI saw the movie and found most of the jokes very typcial and obvious. the movie overall, i thought, was worth seeing but not excellent. Also, the movie was too obsessed with food and some of the dialogue felt like cardboard.
but i do think it was worth seeing.
Posted by joe | September 5, 2009, 6:26 pmThere is no "anti-Arab hysteria" in America. What are you talking about?
The real culprit, however, is the Israeli occupation.
No doubt that it makes things hard for people. How come Palestinians take no responsibility for making things worse, everything is Israel's fault? Remember before whenever Condi Rice would be visiting the region to push for peace, Hamas would shoot a bunch of rockets to get things all stirred up while she was there?
Anyway, "Amreeka" sounds like an interesting movie, I may try to get a copy. I got a copy of that "Waltz with Bashir" movie with English subtitles after reading about it on this blog – strange movie that was ultimately about a massacre in Lebanon.
Posted by eagle007blogger | September 6, 2009, 11:58 amSuggest you see "The Gangs of New York". Shows the bigotry against the Irish when they first came here. Then there are many movies about the Italian experience when they first came here. Then there are the movies about the Eastern Europeans when they first came here. Then there is the observation that the Pilgrims came because they were being persecuted over there. It seems that the Palestinian Americans see themselves as uniquely persecuted, whether here or in the territories. A look at the Hispanics of varied origins escapes the notice of Palestinians since they want to be the only people hurting or blaming others. Seems that is quicker to blame someone else than to look at the history and the INactions that persist. Teaching children that there is no Israel at best is wishful thinking, but seems a denial of reality that is a disservice to the children AND those responsible for the lie.
Posted by cynic8 | September 7, 2009, 12:06 amGangs of New York also showcases Leonardo Dicaprio's inability to differentiate between the various accents he's done in movies.
Posted by SanaKF | September 7, 2009, 4:20 amThe real culprit, however, is the Israeli occupation. It makes life for them unbearable. Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint humiliate Fadi after his innocent joke angers them.
Oh really? And what would the movie have been about if it hadn't been Palestinian immigrants, but rather people from some other Arab country? Who would the "culprit" have been then? It almost seems as if you are trying to suggest most Arab immigrants to the US are Palestinians, and that's not the case. I've only met one Palestinian here in the US, and that was some asshat prof who almost got assaulted by his own students in his own class back in the 1980s. I don't know what the stats are but I'm positive Palestinians are a very small percentage of Arab immigrants in the US, and I'm also sure Palestinians are responsible for most of the anti-Arab hostility here – the aforementioned asshat for example. Why didn't somebody just tell "Muna" to move to some other country such as France where they like obnoxious jackasses? Then they could have called the movie "Tournante", right?
Posted by programmer craig | September 7, 2009, 8:59 pm"The real culprit" for why they moved to America in the story. I suggest you watch the movie before commenting on it.
Posted by KABOBfestWill | September 8, 2009, 12:11 amI suggest you watch the movie before commenting on it.
Will, that was my point. I won't see this movie. If it had been a movie about Arab immigrants to the US and it didn't have anything to do with Israelis or Palestinians, I might have. If this is a fictional movie then why in the hell did they decide to go that route? Just to make a political statement? I thought it was supposed to be a human interest movie about an immigrant family, what happened to that? Sacrificed at the altar of Palestine?
Posted by programmer craig | September 9, 2009, 9:32 pmYea, completely ignore the fact that one of the largest groups of Arab Americans happen to be of Palestinian origin.
Makes sense considering that they were ethnically cleansed from their homeland.
Posted by Arayus | September 9, 2009, 9:39 pmYea, completely ignore the fact that one of the largest groups of Arab Americans happen to be of Palestinian origin.
That isn't a fact, at all. And I didn't "ignore" it, I pointed out that I've only met one Palestinian in my whole life, whereas I've known scores of Egyptians and Lebanese. I've even met more Syrians than I have Palestinians.
Makes sense considering that they were ethnically cleansed from their homeland.
And so that's the reason you told that lie, is it? Just to turn it back on Israel? And this counters the point I made about the hotbutton political points this movie tries to score, how?
Posted by programmer craig | September 9, 2009, 11:18 pmYour inability to meet many Palestinians does not change the fact that they are one of the largest groups of Arabs in the United States. I'm sorry PC but using your own personal experience to make a statistical argument is quite retarded.
Furthermore, why shouldn't Palestinians be able to complain about the fact that the vast majority of them were turned into refugee's because of the formation of the state of Israel.
Posted by Arayus | September 10, 2009, 9:07 pmYour inability to meet many Palestinians does not change the fact that they are one of the largest groups of Arabs in the United States. I'm sorry PC but using your own personal experience to make a statistical argument is quite retarded.
Furthermore, why shouldn't Palestinians be able to complain about the fact that the vast majority of them were turned into refugee's because they were kicked out of their homes by Israeli terror groups and militias.
Finally, you should watch the movie before you embarrass yourself further.
Posted by Arayus | September 10, 2009, 9:08 pmYour inability to meet many Palestinians does not change the fact that they are one of the largest groups of Arabs in the United States. I'm sorry PC but using your own personal experience to make a statistical argument is quite retarded.
No, it's your inability to base your opinions on anything but hot air is what's retarded. "One of the largest groups" is a completely meaningless statement and you know it. There are 10x more Egyptians and Lebanese in the US than Palestinians, and many of them come from families that immigrated here before Palestine OR Israel even existed, so you can't spew your shit about Israelis forcing them to come to the US, can you? :p
Furthermore, why shouldn't Palestinians be able to complain about the fact that the vast majority of them were turned into refugee's because they were kicked out of their homes by Israeli terror groups and militias.
They can do whatever the fuck they want, but if they want to make propagandistic anti-Israel movies and then try to pass them off as human interest dramas they won't be very popular in the US, will they?
Finally, you should watch the movie before you embarrass yourself further.
Oh, well thank for the concern about my "embarrassment" status, but I'd actually be quite a lot more embarrassed if I watched that movie against my better judgment and somebody I know found out about it.
Attention: Anyone who wants Craig to watch a movie about Arabs better leave both Israel and Palestine out of it! That is all!.
Posted by programmer craig | September 11, 2009, 9:28 pmSo there should be no films about Palestine and Israel, and no characters should ever come from Palestine? Frankly, much of the film is not about Palestine at all…much of it is about the frustration of the immigrant experience, on the whole.
(no snark about my comment being months late, I was just googling something and came back to this!)
Posted by JillianKF | November 4, 2009, 4:25 am"The real culptrit" for why they moved to America in the story is… the Israeli occupation. (Good reason to move). No doubt that its hard on people and makes life difficult. The point is – the question – why did Palestinians continuously do things to make it worse? For example, the security measures make things difficult, so wow, why don't we make security worse and get more measures?
I suggest you switch to decaf.
Posted by eagle007blogger | September 13, 2009, 6:30 amGreat write up Will, I loved the movie a lot too, but actually disagree with you about it being so exceptionally Palestinian. I saw the movie with a Vietnamese-American friend and they felt that this movie could have been made by their siblings that came to the US as adolescents in the 1970s. Furthermore, I feel the experiences are more general for Arabs than specifically Palestinian. When operating in the diaspora, when being steeped in a sense of being "out of place" it matters little if you are fleeing Saddam Hussein, the National Front in Yemen, the Moroccan Gov't in Western Sahara, or even the general economic malaise, corrupt gov'ts and intolerance that is present in so many places. In a sense, all of these spaces suffer from an occupation and push many of their inhabitants into liminality.
In any event, it is very much worth seeing!
A couple of quick notes too:
1) The original music/incidental music was composed by Kareem Routom (of the Arabesque Ensemble). His score for the movie is really nuanced and brilliantly subtle.
2) Worth noting the financial support/investment by both Abu Dhabi Imagination and the Rotana corp. From what I understand the movie wouldn't have happened without some serious Khaleeji help. Also, interesting that this was the first dramatic release by National Geographic, an arena they are hoping to expand into (they were the main backers of the movie). I hope they support more projects like this!
3) I loved Ali Shawkat in Arrested Development and thought she did a great job in this movie, but she didn't look at all related to the rest of the family, haha.
Posted by Nimr Kabob | September 8, 2009, 3:26 amExcellent points on all fronts Nimr… well-taken. I agree with your assessment of the soundtrack.
I guess what I meant about uniquely Palestinian was about the difficult idea of giving up in the face of oppression, ceding a national struggle in a sense. But, as you point out, this alone is not unique to Palestinians. The idea of the land as a contest between different nations may give it a special dimension, but I need to thank about that more…
Posted by KABOBfestWill | September 9, 2009, 12:54 pmHilariously, Alia Shawkat basically never looks like the family she belongs to on film…probably because she's like 1/4 Iraqi, 1/4 Irish, and 2/4 two or more other things I've forgotten. I love her though.
Posted by JillianKF | November 4, 2009, 4:26 amWhat an insightful and beautifully written review!
Posted by Nancy Harb Almendras | September 9, 2009, 3:59 amOkay so I just saw the movie today and I'm pretty disappointed. Will, may I write a critique on this as a follow up to your review?? thanks!!
Posted by lena | September 11, 2009, 4:58 amTop Venice award for Israeli film
The Israeli war film Lebanon has won the top award at the Venice Film Festival, the Golden Lion.
Posted by movies | September 12, 2009, 9:55 pmi havent seen the film yet, it looks interesting though. a great film about the difficulties of immigration is "Ein Augenblick Freiheit" (english: For a Moment Freedom). It is a must-see for everyone!
Posted by Abdelrahman | September 13, 2009, 11:36 pmCan i also recommend Under the Bombs, about 2006 conflict btwn Hezbollah and Israel?
But found Syrian Bride very stilted and boring, and Atash way too arty and dark to be of real interest/enjoyment. (from an english/UK point of view anyway)
Posted by Abu Nuh/Carl | September 14, 2009, 3:43 pmVery disturbed to learn the director broke the cultural boycott and participated in the Haifa Film Festival. More disappointed to hear her defend her choice.
The film does tow the US and Israeli lefty line and remains safe but I expected more from an Palestinian director.
Good acting. Horrid, unoriginal soundtrack.
Posted by Frank Barart | October 19, 2009, 3:36 pmMarcel Khalifa at the end was a buzzkill!!! Out of place and poor choice. If anyone knows of a Arab film that does not stick a Marcel Khalifa song on to the end please let me know!
Posted by Majd Obeidat | October 29, 2009, 2:17 pmMarcel Khalifa at the end was a buzzkill!!! Out of place and poor choice. If anyone knows of a Arab film that does not stick a Marcel Khalifa song on to the end please let me know!
Posted by Frank Barart | October 29, 2009, 2:17 pmi agree this was totally out of place!
Posted by reem | October 30, 2009, 3:15 pmAgree Majd. 100% Will research and let you know.
Posted by Frank Barart | October 29, 2009, 2:19 pm