Amreeka (2009)

A drama centered on an immigrant single mother and her teenage son in small town Illinois.

Director:

Cherien Dabis

Writer:

Cherien Dabis

Stars:

Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Alia Shawkat

6 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nisreen Faour	...	Muna Farah
Melkar Muallem	...	Fadi
Alia Shawkat	...	Salma Halaby
Hiam Abbass	...	Raghda Halaby
Yussuf Abu-Warda	...	Nabeel Halaby
Joseph Ziegler	...	Stan Novatski
Amer Hlehel	...	Samer
Selena Haddad	...	Lamis Halaby
Jenna Kawar	...	Rana Halaby
Suheila Muallem	...	Jamie
Brodie Sanderson	...	Matt
Andrew Sannie	...	James
Daniel Boiteau	...	Mike
Jeff Button	...	Jason
Miriam Smith	...	Bank Employee

Storyline

Muna, a single mother in Ramallah, has applied for a visa to the US. When it comes, her son Fadi, an excellent student, convinces her they should go. After an incident at customs begins their exile badly, they join Muna's sister and family in Illinois. Muna needs a job: although she has two degrees and 15 years' experience in banking, she settles for work at White Castle, telling the family her job's at a nearby bank. It's spring, 2003, and the US invades Iraq. While friends come from unlikely places, Fadi meets prejudice at school. How he'll respond to it and to American youth culture and how Muna will sort things out with her family are the rest of the story. Tragedy or hope?

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Plot Keywords:

school | illinois | bank | white castle | bethlehem | 

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Taglines:

Life's best adventures are journeys of the heart.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief drug use involving teens, and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

17 June 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Amerrika

Filming Locations:

Ramallah, Palestine

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$61,176 (USA) (18 September 2009)

Gross:

$622,164 (USA) (15 January 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Generation Films, Alcina Pictures, Buffalo Gal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There were no White Castles in Winnepeg, where it was filmed, so the White Castle company had the supplies for one trucked there. It never sold food, but people kept trying to order from it.

User Reviews

Well made drama about a single mother and her son ...

1st watched 1/1/2012 – 8 out of 10 (Dir-Cherien Dabis): Well made drama about a single mother and her son moving from Bethlehem in Palestine to the US, and encounter many different obstacles upon their arrival. This movie is what you'd call a slice-of-life film but focused on a situation that isn't shown much in the movies. They decide to move right in the middle of the Iraq conflict to help the son with his schooling possibilities while suspicions are high against people from their area. This is seen from the perspective of non-Muslim middle eastern folk who just want to live their lives like everyone else. The son first has to encounter being a teen at a Midwest high school where he gets into fights and then gets arrested defending his mother – so things aren't so kind for him in his new surroundings. Nisreen Faour is wonderful as the mother and the rest of the cast is spot on. The experience is not all gloom-and-doom as the mother meets a sympathetic Polish Jew who is the principal of her son's school as well as a friendly teen she works with at the local White Castle. The only real downside to the movie is that it ends too soon. You get attached to these characters and want to see more, but it ends before any major conclusions – other than the fact that life will go on and things are looking up. Don't miss this gem of a movie that deserves a sequel or maybe a reality series on a cable channel?? – Anything to bring back these characters so will can follow them to see how things turn out in the end.