:
Hiam Abbass,
Makram Khoury,
Clara Khoury,
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:
Eran Riklis
see all cast/crew...
: Koch Lorber Films
: Drama, Foreign, Middle East
: 97 min.
: English, French, Russian, Arabic
: English
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A family deals with the typical anxieties of a wedding day while also confronting the political turmoil of the Middle East in this drama, a collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers. Hammed (Makram J. Khoury) is a leading political figure in Majdal Shams, a Druze community that has been under Israeli occupation since the late '60s. Years ago, Hammed arranged for his daughter Mona (Clara Khoury) to marry Tallel (Derar Sliman), who has since become a successful actor in Syria. Hammed has gathered the family together to see Mona off, but the occasion is a bittersweet one -- given the combative relationship between Israel and Syria, once Mona crosses the border with her husband, it's unlikely she will ever be able to return. Hammed's oldest son, Hattem (Eyad Sheety), comes back from Russia, where he now lives with his wife, but his father still refuses to forgive him for leaving the land of his birth. Marwan (Ashraf Barhoum), a younger son, is a businessman living in Italy who uses his visit home as an opportunity to visit Jeanne (Julie-Anne Roth), an American United Nations representative he's been dating. And daughter Amal (Hiam Abbass) helps her sister Mona deal with the stress and details of her big day as she struggles to live as a modern woman while married to Amin (Adnan Tarabshi), who wants his spouse to follow a more traditional path. Makram J. Khoury was ideally cast as Hammed in at least one respect -- he's the real life father of Clara Khoury, who plays his screen daughter Mona. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Once The Syrian Bride enters into an arranged marriage, she'll never be allowed to return to Israel again. "Like all wedding films, it's essentially a comedy, albeit a sad one," wrote J. Hoberman in the Village Voice. Read GreenCine's exclusive interview with director Eran Riklis. Full article >>
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| Whose Territory?
by talltale
June 10, 2006 - 7:40 AM PDT
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| For those of us who know little about the inhabitants of Israel's Golan Heights area, THE SYRIAN BRIDE will come as a bracing surprise, as well as a tart, funny/sad story about familial (and other kinds of) love. Beautifully acted by a raft of fine performers, leading off with Hiam Abbass (who was so wonderful in everything from "Paradise Now" to "Munich" and especially the leading role is "Satin Rouge"), the movie becomes a splendid political allegory without having to push anything into heavy-handed territory. By virtue of the rules governing this little area, some fine writing, directing and acting, all is made plain and not so simple. Family comes first here, and the lovely reconciliation scene, viewed from the rear, is a hallmark of the director's subtlety and style. This is a fine piece of moviemaking. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.38)
16 Votes
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