The Last Friday (2011)

When a forty-year-old divorced father discovers that he needs to undergo an operation, which he can not afford, within the next 4 days, he finds himself forced to deal with the life he isolated himself from for the longest time.

Director:

Yahya Alabdallah

Writer:

Yahya Alabdallah (screenplay)

Stars:

Ali Suliman, Fadi Arida, Faris Batayneh

7 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ali Suliman	...	Yousef
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fadi Arida	...	Imad
Faris Batayneh	...	Bully
Nabil Kawni	...	Sheikh
Yasmine Al Massri	...	Dalal (as Yasmine Elmasri)
Nadira Omran	...	Mother
Taghreed Al Rushuq	...	Malak
Amin Safi	...	Doctor
Shadi Salah	...	Mechanic
Lara Sawalha	...	Daughter
Abdul Kareem Abu Zayad	...	Jaber

Storyline

When a forty-year-old divorced father discovers that he needs to undergo an operation which he can not afford within the next 4 days, he finds himself forced to deal with the life he isolated himself from for the longest time. Yousef (Ali Suliman) once a successful car salesman, is now a down-and-out taxi driver who lost his job, money, wife and son to a poker game five years ago and is forced to work on a taxi as the economy crises diminishes his chances of finding a better job. Imad (Fadi Arida) the 14 old year son who is lost between divorced parents, each living in different worlds, consumed with their own lives, and in the process neglecting their son's needs and future. Dalal (Yasmin Al Massri) left Yousef after he lost his money and got married to a wealthy man, detaching herself from all emotions and her love for Yousef for the sake of a more prestigious stable life. Yousef is now living alone in a rundown apartment in East Amman. Disconnected from his new reality and engulfed...

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Plot Keywords:

economic crisis | low budget film | husband wife relationship | father son relationship | independent film | 

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Taglines:

No better awake than a threat of death

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

United Arab Emirates Jordan

Language:

Arabic

Release Date:

10 December 2011 (Jordan)

Also Known As:

The Last Friday

Filming Locations:

Jordan

Box Office

Budget:

$350,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dubai Media and Entertainment Organisation in association with Dubai Film Market (Enjaaz), The Royal Film Commission

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

User Reviews

The Jordanian drama won the special jury award at the Dubai Film Festival.

The Last Friday is a well-thought-out piece of filmmaking that fails to take that crucial friendly step towards its audience. Its bleak take on individual isolation in a cold modern society won post-production financing at San Sebastian this year, followed by the Special Jury Award and two other prizes at the Dubai Film Festival. Beyond the Arab world, however, the downbeat subject will make it a hard sell with audiences, though this first feature should earn director Yahya Al Abdallah the attention of fest programmers. A little disappointingly, there's little that is specifically Jordanian in this sober tale set in Amman, whose story could be told in any modern metropolis. Yousef (played by Ali Suliman, a veteran familiar from the films of Elia Suleiman as well as Body of Lies) has only a few days to find money for a crucial surgical operation. A compulsive gambler, he lost his home, his wife (the beautiful Yasmine Al Masri of Caramel) and all his savings years ago at the poker table. Even his job as a car showroom salesman has been downgraded to that of a company driver. Though the back story is implicit rather than spelled out, it explains and nuances Yousef's estrangement from society and his family. The urgency of the moment forces him out of his solitude and on a hurried search for money. Paralleling his wasted life is that of his unpromising teenage son Emad (Fadi Arida), who cuts school, steals from Dad's wallet and generally screws up. Both Suliman's morose, uncompromising father and young Arida's brash but insecure son are painfully on target, generating a convincingly destructive father-son chemistry. Suliman's strong, nearly wordless characterization of Yousef as a loser who struggles with misplaced pride and self-sacrifice won him best actor kudos at Dubai. It's night a lot in this dark drama, finely captured on digital blown up to 35mm by D.P. Rachel Aoun. The long-held shots of the sober, fixed-frame camera-work tend to stretch on and on. Underscoring the action is a mellow, award-winning soundtrack by Le Trio Joubran. Venue: Dubai Film Festival (Muhr Arab Feature competition) Cast: Ali Suliman, Yasmine Al Masri Production companies: The Royal Film Commission Jordan in association with ME Films, Dubai Film Market (Enjaaz) Director: Yahya Al Abdallah Screenwriters: Yahya Al Abdallah Producers: Rula Nasser, Majd Hijjawi, Yahya Al Abdallah Executive producers: George David, Mohammad Al Bakri Director of photography: Rachel Aoun Production designer: Samir Zaidan Music: Le Trio Jubran Editor: Mohammad Suleiman Sales Agent: The Royal Film Commission Jordan No rating, 88 minutes