DVD Review

Title: Amreeka

Director: Cherien Dabis

Principal Actors: Nisreen Faour, Hiam Abbass, Melkar Muallem

Length: 96 mins

Release Date: January 12, 2010

Studio: E1 Entertainment

English and Arabic with optional subtitles

Reviewed by: Alex Hutt

Though the film itself is not a new formula, Amreeka is refreshingly original thanks in large part to it's exemplary cast. The diasporic trek of a single mother and her son into a new country and their ensuing struggle has been retold several times but in this case, it is expertly told in a fresh manner by Dabis, who wrote and directed the picture.

Muna Farah (Nisreen Faour) and her son Fadi (Melkar Muallem in a great breakthrough performance) leave the occupied Palestine territory to live with their relatives the Halaby's in Illinois to start a new life. Battling financial woes, racism, high school and job issues, the Farah's have to navigate their own place in their new home of America.

The reason why this plotline (which is based on the life of Cherien's family — specifically her aunt) is so original and noticeable is the combination of humour and tragedy. Dabis could have easily left the plot to run into tragedy, as Muna has lost all her money and cannot find a job except at White Castle, Fadi is the frequent victim of racial stereotyping and Uncle Nabeel Falaby's doctoral practice has taken a hit since the Twin Towers were hit due to racism. This could have easily dissolved into a simple tearjerker — and there is certainly a needed element of that — but there is also humour in the face of the sadness. For instance, when Fadi and Muna are crossing into the US, the corrections officer asks what Muna's past occupation was and she answer's "Yes, [Palestine] has been occupied for 40 years."

The individual performances in Amreeka drive the humour and the drama forward, and the centerpoint is Nisreen Faour as Muna. The struggle to support her son and be a capable mother is clear in her acting choices, even as the inner child inside Muna also shines through as she stumbles along. Melkar Muallem in his film debut is also excellent as a teen who just wants to fit in but faces racism in both Palestine and America. Veterans Hiam Abbass and Yussef Abu Warda excel as Mr. and Mrs. Falady, as their voice work clearly communicate their love for each other while also their quiet anger within the marriage. The mixing of Arabic and English also puts different spins on the arguments between characters, as the Arabic arguments are more sincere and the English more humourous.

The extra features in the DVD are few, but a superb film does not require special features to cover up the pitfalls. Those that are there are interesting; interviews with the cast, Dabis and others as well as a dicussion with Dabis. The interviews showed that the language barrier present in the film is also a struggle to some of the actors including Nisreen Faour, showing the honesty of their performances.

A wonderful film that break and warms the heart, Amreeka is certainly deserving of the praise and awards it has received, and with it's quality of acting and script it is sure to continue to do well.

Written by :

alessandro

 

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed