ALAM (2022) ¢ ¢ ¢
D: Firas Khoury
Mahmood Bakri, Sereen Khass, Mohammad Karaki,
Muhammad Abed Elrahman, Amer Hichel, Saleh Bakri
Somewhere in Israel, a small group of Palestinian students plan an act of rebellion: replacing the Israeli flag that flies from the roof of their high school with one of their own. They're the opposite of organized, their motives and levels of enthusiasm are diverse, and the movie reflects that, opening a window on life in a place and a political environment where existence means humiliation and resistance means boots and clubs, prison or death. The movie's a little rough. The actors who play the students look way older than high school, and some of the messaging is blunt, like the shots of people hugging trees in a forest that's been planted over what was once a Palestinian village. It's part of what the Palestinians call the Nakba, "The Catastrophe", going back to 1948. It's about being a prisoner in your own land. There's no relief and no way out. It never ends.
