The next film to be shown by the Vernon Film Society Monday at the Towne Cinema is Omar, a Palestinian movie which will keep the audience on the edge of their seats and leave them with many questions.
The movie, directed by Hany Abu-Assad who received acclaim with his last movie, Paradise Now, in 2005, shows the difficulties of Palestinians living in the shadow of the wall which now separates many of their communities as well as Israelis from Palestinians.
Omar (Adam Bakri) is one of three young men who chafes under the restrictions this separation brings, one of which is being unable to easily meet with Nadia (Leem Lubany) whom he loves and hopes to marry one day. The men meet and have fun, and feel they need to do something to prove their manhood and their anger and frustration with their situation living in the shadow of the wall.
When an Israeli soldier is shot, Omar is captured and tortured to try and make him betray the friend who actually did the deed.
This psychological thriller, as it has been called, “shows a world where all trust has vanished, where every relationship carries the possibility – perhaps the inevitability – of betrayal and where every form of honour is corroded by lies,” said A.O. Scott, film reviewer with The New York Times.
The adrenalin rush ending makes Omar set to become an “Arab noir” classic. All the young actors in the movie have received high acclaim, and the movie was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Academy Awards.
The film is in Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles and is classified as 14A due to some violence.
Omar will be shown at the Towne Cinema Monday at 5:15 and 7:45 p.m.
All tickets are $7, available at the theatre and the Bean Scene coffee house one week ahead.
The Vernon Film Society is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and as a thank you to loyal patrons, is offering passes for any five movies for $30. These passes will be available for purchase at regular movie nights with expiry at the end of December.