Film: Inch’Allah (2012)
Cast includes: Evelyne Brochu (Café de Flore), Sabrina Ouazani (Of Gods and Men), Sivan Levy (Joe + Belle), Jousef ‘Joe’ Sweid (Walk on Water)
Writer/Director: Aniïs Barbeau-Lavalette (Les petits géants)
Genre: Drama (102 minutes) Multiple languages with subtitles
The woman with the backpack is meeting a friend at the café. The Israeli boy is only interested in the birds. The camera stops a moment on one of the birds… and that’s when we first sense that something’s wrong… but it’s too late. This is Tel Aviv, and suicide bombings are not as common as before, but…. In the next scene, Chloé and Ava are coming home from a night of partying and drinking. Ava is singing… Chloé is taking a cell phone video. “Say hello to Palestine,” says Chloé. The next morning, Chloé has a Skype call with her mom. “I keep thinking it could have been you,” says Mom. Chloé hates the way her mom worries. Chloé and Ava take the bus to the boarder, where Ava’s working as a security guard. Chloé goes into Palestine, where she works as a doctor at the clinic in the settlement. Even at the clinic, the guards have a heavy hand. It’s just mothers and babies. Do they think the babies are wired with explosives? Rand is there for an ultrasound. Her baby is due pretty soon and so far things look good.
After work, Chloé walks through the maze of streets to the print shop. Faysal is running off posters of the latest martyr. Chloé is making copies of ultrasounds for her patients. “This is your nephew,” she tells Faysal, showing him one of the images. Later, Chloé finds Faysal’s sister Rand near the wall. Rand and others scavenge the trash in this hell-scape, searching for useful items. The kids are using an old shoe as a telephone. “Hello, President of Israel,” says Youssef. “Things are shitty on this side of the wall…” The conversation is cut short by artillery fire that sends everyone scurrying back into the settlement. Working at the clinic, Chloé has become quite attached to some of her patients. And they seem quite fond of her, even though she’s an American. With the skirmish going on, it’s not safe for Chloé to go home tonight. Looks like Chloé will be spending the night with Rand’s family. Youssef and the other kids size up the situation… “It’s gonna get hot.” Indeed, the next day soldiers in heavily armored vehicles drive through, with no regard for anyone, even children. Maybe they didn’t mean to run over Youssef, but when they do, they simply keep going. The next day, it’s Youssef whose picture is on a martyr’s poster.
“You feel at home on our side of the wall. But you go where you want, when you want,” Faysal tells Chloé. She’s conflicted, but she’s not one of them. Naturally, life is more pleasant on the Israeli side, but is it really more humane? How is it that soldiers kill Youssef, “and no one says anything?” Inch’Allah isn’t an easy film to watch. Even the happiest scenes have an uncomfortable edge. The Israelis in the story feel trapped, too, as we see when Chloé talks with her friend Ava. Canadian filmmaker, writer/director Aniïs Barbeau-Lavalette is an experienced documentary filmmaker, and this film often has the feel of a documentary. Although it’s fiction, it’s based on the world she saw when she spent time living near the West Bank. She felt it was a story she wanted to tell even though there are no easy answers. Chloé see the events from a westerner’s perspective, so she becomes our eyes and ears into the story. But it’s hard to make sense of any of it. “Hey. It’s not your war.”
3 popped kernels
An American doctor living in Israel, working in Palestinian, sees the conflict from both sides
Popcorn Profile
Rated: R (Violence)
Audience: Grown-ups
Distribution: Art house
Mood: Sober
Tempo: Cruises comfortably
Visual Style: Unvarnished realism
Primary Driver: Conflict
Language: True to life
Social Significance: Thought provoking
