Gaza mon amour

I'll stick my neck out and say that I don't see how this wry comedy's delicate touch could have been bettered. There was just enough of the horror of external oppression from the Zionist Entity whose attacks and drones destroyed normal life and internal oppression from the agents of the state who were also trying to keep their heads above water in the face of the Entity's crippling siege and blockade.

The music needs to be mentioned as a particular attribute reminiscent of a Hollywood film at times when scenes involving Issa and Siham were playing out. And I really appreciated the times when we saw characters watching or listening to greats such as Abdul Halim Hafez singing "Takht el Maa" which was truly what someone of Issa's age would be listening to as well as the classic Egyptian films favoured by Siham.

Minor characters were finely drawn particularly Issa's interfering sister who was exactly what I'd have expected her to be. And a special mention for Samir who was the typical ground-down young man who would spend a fortune to get out to Europe.

The Gaza Strip is a police state and there's no doubt about that. What else could it be with the continual attacks on it and the corruption engendered by Mossad? We see this in the film that portrays its legion of informers and turncoats such as the antiques dealer.

I'd recommend this as a film that shows a reality leavened by lightness and the optimism of the human spirit. Life goes on and people make the best of it. What a pity that they have to suffer such indignities in the first place though.