The Syrian Bride

My movie watching fell short of my hopes. Nothing unusual there. I remain, despite the beliefs of others, an optimist.

I did, tough, see The Syrian Bride. A wonderful movie that above all made me think that contrary to the lunatic fringe here in the States, Palestinians and Jews actually have to live together. And this involves both sides overlooking and accommodating themselves to the other. There's a fascinating ontological puzzle towards the end. In order for the bride-to-be in the Golan to marry a Syrian man, she must relinquish her Israeli passport (although I suppose it's not technically speaking a passport) and receive a Syrian passport. However, the Syrian border control officer will not accept the old passport, which had been stamped by his counterpart in Israel. Why? Obviously because the Golan is not part of Israel. It is part of Syria despite the de jure, from the the Israeli perspective, and de facto from the Syrian reality on the ground. Thus, an Israeli stamp implies the acceptance of what is but cannot be acknowledged. It must require considerable intellectual hurdles to continually view what might be, or once was, versus what is.

The movie also presented an engaging family drama involving multiple siblings and in-laws. It was quite affecting and indeed, brought tears to Joanna's eyes. Hardly a typical event for her when watching a movie.

And finally, the fabulous Hiam Abbass is, as always, beautiful and, well, fabulous.