Wajib written and directed by AnneMarie Jacir; 2017, Arabic with English subtitles, 96 minutes; to be shown during the San Diego International Jewish Film Festival at 1:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 11, at the Reading Cinemas Town Square, 4665 Clairemont Drive, San Diego
By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – Shadi (Saleh Bakri) an architect working in Italy, returns to Nazareth to attend the wedding of his sister Amal (Maria Zreik). As is the local custom, invitations to the wedding must be hand-delivered, so Shadi and his father Murad, also known as Abu Shadi (Mohammad Bakri), drive around town to personally present the invitations. As they talk in the car, we learn that Shadi is highly critical of almost everything he sees in his former home town of Nazareth – the lack of garbage pickup, the tarps that apartment dwellers stretch over their balconies, and most of all the presence of Israeli soldiers in the city. Abu Shadi, a soft-spoken teacher who hopes someday to become the headmaster of the school, is far more positive than his son. Not all the Jews are their enemies; some are friends, he says.
Beyond the political polemic that this invites, with Shadi representing disillusioned youth and Murad the accommodationist older man, the film presents us with a window into the lives and prejudices of Christian Arabs living in Israel. For example, we meet Fadya (Rana Alamuddin) a cousin of Shadi’s, who is an attorney, a well educated and attractive woman. Because she once lived with a man, without benefit of marriage, she now is considered a shamed woman, off the marriage market. We hear women who smilingly accept an invitation from Shadi later gossiping about his mother, who lives in the United States. An aunt whose son has too many parking tickets asks Shadi to sign a form saying he was responsible for the violation in that he will soon be returning to Europe and no harm will come to him.
On the more positive side, hospitality in Arab homes almost always involves a warm welcome, an offer of coffee and food, and friendly, unhurried conversation. With over 300 people being invited to the wedding, Shadi and his father could theoretically float on a river of coffee from Nazareth all the way to the Mediterranean.
The 97-minute film reveals Shadi’s and Murad’s secrets at a gentle pace. Even though their different political opinions occasionally erupt into argument, this father and son both love and have respect for each other.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com