Amreeka (2009)

A drama centered on the trials and tribulations of a proud Palestinian Christian immigrant single mother and her teenage son in small town Indiana.

Director:

Cherien Dabis

Writer:

Cherien Dabis

Stars:

Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass

9 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nisreen Faour	...	Muna Farah
Melkar Muallem	...	Fadi Farah
Hiam Abbass	...	Raghda Halaby
Alia Shawkat	...	Salma Halaby
Yussuf Abu-Warda	...	Nabeel Halaby (as Yussef Abu Warda)
Joseph Ziegler	...	Mr. Novatski
Amer Hlehel	...	Samer
Selena Haddad	...	Lamis Halaby
Jenna Kawar	...	Rana Halaby
Suheila Muallem	...	Jamileh
Brodie Sanderson	...	Matt
Andrew Sannie	...	James
Daniel Boiteau	...	Mike
Jeff Button	...	Jason (as Jeff Sutton)
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 | bank | student | white castle | single mother | 

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Taglines:

Serving up the American Dream.

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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:

Former Official site for the film - site no longer active. [United States] Official distributor's page for the film. [Australia]

Country:

USA United Arab Emirates Canada Kuwait Jordan

Language:

English Arabic French

Release Date:

17 June 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Amerrika

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$61,176, 18 September 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$622,164, 17 January 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Geographic Entertainment, Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ, Levantine Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Feature film directing debut of Cherien Dabis.

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Goofs

Interviews and luggage searches are performed by people with "Airport Security" patches on their uniforms. These jobs would be performed by Customs officers and Immigration officers.

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Soundtracks

Backward Glance
Written by Brian Beshears
Performed by Brian Beshears
Published by Westar Music Publishing (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Westar Music

User Reviews

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And if you don't know what my title is in reference to then you haven't seen this movie. "when you are in this house you are in Palestine", that's another important statement in this movie!

This is actually a very well acted and scripted film! It chronicles the immigration of a single Palestinian mother and son to Illinois and the culture clash they encounter.

Unfortunately the plot is depressingly familiar and the outcome predictable. The mother is honest but wants to save face with her family that is allowing her & son to live with them by lying about her job. Both son & mother face rejection at school and the workplace, but they are resolute in overcoming the odds against them.

So there you have it ... I encourage people who enjoy good cinema to watch this as it is a well crafted movie but I'm afraid a bit forgettable.