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Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe,
Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe,
Arie Elias,
more...
:
Ra'anan Alexandrowicz
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Zeitgeist Films
: Foreign, Middle East, Israel
: 87 min.
: English, Zulu
: English
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South African actor Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe stars as a devout Christian who becomes part of Tel Aviv's migrant force after making a pilgrimage from his African village to the Holy Land in director Ra'anan Alexandrowicz's cinematic look at the contrast between hypocritical Western values and cultural Israeli divisions. After embarking on a religious journey to the Holy Land in a quest to find spiritual fulfillment, James (Shibe)'s subsequent involvement with the impoverished migrant workforce finds his religious journey sidetracked by an increasing desire to give his wealthy employers an unanticipated run for their money. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
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| The Year's--the Decade's--Best?
by talltale
January 6, 2005 - 7:53 AM PST
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3 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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| I've now seen the "Best Picture of the Year" (maybe of the decade), and it's JAMES' JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. Why this one isn't on the 10-Best lists of our more intelligent critics, I can't fathom. It received a brace of good reviews but opened in such a limited run on few screens (Film Forum here in NYC), I supposed it's been forgotten in the end-of-year rush. If you enjoy movies that offer intelligence and humor (combined with economics and sociology) plus oodles of humanity--without the sentimentality that often mars the best attempts at this tricky combination, this is your film. JJtoJ takes place in present-day Israel at that peculiar intersection (it seems always to create hypocrisy and denial) where morality, commerce, religion and faith meet--collide is more like it--and this collision is bracing. While the movie works as a critique of--and is specific to--modern Israel (where the fact that no one wants to be a "frayer" has managed to produced an extreme, every-man-for-himself society), it's not hard to shift the locale to any western country that welcomes third-world citizens--and then exploits them. Beautifully conceived and brought to fruition about as perfectly as possible on a small budget, the film elicits a star-making performance from its "James": Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe (a mouthful, but this guy is as charismatic as any actor I've seen). Charming, handsome, sweet and naïve, he creates a modern-day Candide, but quite the quick-study compared to Voltaire's original. Writer/director Ra'anan Alexandrowicz, who made the fine documentary "The Inner Tour" a few years back, has just taken a giant leap with this new--and unforgettable--film. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.00)
2 Votes
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