Omar (2013)

Omar (dir. Abu-Assad) could have been a captivating and important political drama that reveals the state of oppression exercised by the Israeli state. The first couple of scenes - in which a young guy is climing over an isolation wall - has an intensity to them that bore a promise of an engaging story about ordinary life in the streets of Palestine. The rest of the film wrecked all of these promises by investing itself in redundant storytelling, clichés about masculinity and tired plot devices. In all this, Omar lost its political potential and what came to the fore in its place was a story about a young man fighting for honor and trying to be #1 in the game of male rivalry (the object of which is Nadja - speaking about 'object' seems proper for the kind of perspective evoked). If the film would have sticked to observing the goings on in the occupied land of Palestine, commenting on the cruelty of the Israeli military instead of committing to a romance story, I think I would have taken much more kindly to Omar. The main character is involved in an act against Israel and is blamed for it. The film follows the Israeli retribution and the main character's fierce opposition. An endless series of deception, but also moments of strange rapport. The biggest problem is perhaps that the film can't quite make up its mind about whether it wants to be a cool-looking action flick, a romance story or a penetrating political thriller.