"Strangers" Review
by Charles Benimoff
Overall Grade: A-
Strangers (2007), the feature-length expansion of a similarly plotted Israeli short, was easily one of the best treats at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It is the tale of two backpackers travelling through Berlin to catch the 2006 FIFA World Cup: Eyal, an Israeli soldier on shore leave, and a young Palestinian woman named Rana. They cross paths by chance, accidentally switching bags while on the subway, and wind up spending the entire weekend together as they’re both stranded without accommodations. Love swiftly follows. As they grow to know each other, it becomes clear that Rana has more than a few skeletons in her closet, skeletons that must be dealt with if their love-at-first-sight is to survive. Also complicating the relationship is the onset of the Second Lebanese War, which forces the two to deal with their different (or not so different) outlooks on life.
Perhaps the first thing one will notice when watching Strangers is the spontaneity and realism of the dialogue and plot. Scenes do not follow the strict “Problem > Obstacle > Escalation > Decision” structure common to most scripts, instead flowing along at a completely natural pace. The cinematography, music, and performances all follow suit. None of the cast act, they simply “be,” a refreshing change from Hollywood fare. When Eyal and Rana cuddle while watching the game in Tiergarten Park, the magic just jumps off the screen. This is due to director/writers Guy Nattiv & Erez Tadmor’s unique production style: they filmed the entire movie in only two weeks (+two months is the norm) and did so without a screenplay.
The entirety of the film is an experiment in improvisation, all the way down to the incorporation of the Lebanese War, which erupted during production. The result is one of the most organic “slice of life” romantic tales of the year, filmed in the same low-key intimate style as the Irish musical Once. Fans of that movie should especially seek out Strangers.
Another admirable achievement by the writers is how the film resists letting itself be
overcome by the obvious political baggage of the central relationship. The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is addressed by Eyal and Rana so as not to be naïve and ignore the reality of the situation,
but their serious fights always stem from internal character flaws. Eyal questions his love for Rana when she asks for a greater commitment than what he bargained for, not because she was born in
Ramallah. It is a refreshing approach.
That said, when the conflict is addressed, the filmmakers fail slightly at achieving their stated
goal of balance. Attempting to show him another facet of her life, Rana brings Eyal to a meeting of her Parisian Muslim activist group. Turns out they’re in the midst of planning a pro-Lebanese
demonstration (remember that Eyal is a soldier), and fireworks erupt. Eyal defends Israel with a sound, specific, and logical argument.
The lead Muslim activist’s case though basically amounts to “But, but… we’re angry!” Even his coworkers tell him to
calm down. It was nice that the writer/directors gave a voice to the other side, but the film never quite steps out of its Israeli perspective. Since it is at the end of the day
an Israeli movie, this isn’t too great of a flaw, if it’s a flaw at all.
Overall, Strangers is a powerful, if slightly flawed love tale that
manages to be poignant without beating its message over your head. It is a representation of people from one side (both the filmmakers and characters within the movie) looking past bad blood to see
the others for what they are: human, with all the same flaws that make people so.
Unfortunately, as it was only recently released to film festivals, it may be some time before this film finds distribution to the mainstream market. Keep an eye for Strangers on DVD or in art-house theatres in the coming months, as it is definitely worth your viewing.
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