The Idol (2015)

Mohammed Assaf, an aspiring musician living in Gaza, sets a seemingly impossible goal: to compete on the program "Arab Idol."

Director:

Hany Abu-Assad

Writers:

Hany Abu-Assad (screenplay), Sameh Zoabi (screenplay)

Stars:

Tawfeek Barhom, Kais Attalah, Hiba Attalah

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tawfeek Barhom	...	Mohammed Assaf
Kais Attalah	...	Mohammed Assaf (younger) (as Qais Attallah)
Hiba Attalah	...	Nour (as Hiba Attahllah)
Ahmad Qasem	...	Young Ahmad (as Ahmad Qassim)
Abdel Kareem Barakeh	...	Young Omar (as Abdalkarim Abubaraka)
Teya Hussein	...	Young Amal
Dima Awawdeh	...	Amal
Ahmed Al Rokh	...	Omar (as Ahmad Rokh)
Saber Shreim	...	Ahmad
Amer Hlehel	...	Kamal
Manal Awad	...	Mohammed's Mother
Walid Abed Elsalam	...	Mohammed's Father (as Waleed Abd Elsalem)
Eyad Hourani	...	Ali Kushk
Ashraf Barhom	...	Hehler - The Smuggler
Nadine Labaki	...	Shadia

Storyline

Since his early years in his native Gaza, Mohammed Assaf has had a golden voice. Accompanied by his sister Nour and two of his friends, he sings in courtyards first and later at weddings while Kamal helps him to develop the full range of his vocal capacities. Nour unfortunately dies of kidney failure and Mohammed grows up in sorrow and bitterness, all the more as war strikes his hometown. In 2012, he is a student and drives a taxi to finance his studies. He wants to start singing again but he can envisage singing as a career only in leaving Gaza. His only hope is to participate in the famous "Arab Idol" contest. But how to leave the place without a visa?

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Plot Keywords:

ends with text | ends with real life footage | what happened to epilogue | 21th century | 2010s | 

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Palestine UK Qatar Netherlands Egypt United Arab Emirates

Language:

Arabic Spanish

Release Date:

2 June 2016 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Idol

Filming Locations:

Jenin, Palestine

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$343,059

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cactus World Films, Fortress Film Clinic, Full Moon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first movie to be shot in Gaza in over two decades.

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Soundtracks

Ya Bint Al Sultan
Performed by Nakola Khalil Abu Nikola
Lyrics by Hassan Abu Etman
Composed by Hassan Abu Etman
Arranged by Habib Shehada Hanna
Licensed by SACERAU - Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music.

User Reviews

I wouldn't bother.

I want to like this movie. It's got heart and a certain charm even if it coasts on that for too long.

It's quite disorientating how we jump in time from the childhood to the present, to some extent leaving the first half of the movie somewhat irrelevant to its actual plot except to just lay thematic groundwork.

In that respect it's also lacking. A big part of it seems to be the desperation to get out of Gaza and the struggle of living there but I never really got any impression of it being a particularly bad place to live, minus its lack of healthcare subsidizations. I enjoyed watching these kids fight against all odds in trying to be musicians but unfortunately that is not what this movie is ultimately about.

When you have a cute little girl in your main cast I make some concessions but losing your best character half way through is a bit of a blow. It's really just a manufactured way of trying to touch emotional buttons but it is as crass as the real reality shows that this is about.

When we do move in time, there is again, very little groundwork really laid and I struggled to adjust to this new actor as the character I was already familiar with, more due to the pacing rather than anything wrong with the actor though.

More manufactured conflict comes from this devout friend who works at border control which had very little build up to an underdeveloped character that again resolves way too easily. There really aren't high stakes in this movie and its hard to get excited by the end now the charming, childhood in semi-quasi-poverty is over.

I did not watch this is one setting and also, bizarly, the movie goes on for like 20 minutes even when all meaningful conflict has been resolved.

It's a true (though embellished) story of how one person's struggle to make something of their talent despite the struggles of war that after the fact became somewhat of the cultural icon, but that aspect of the narrative is kind of tacked on.

Some excellent music though.I must get into Arab pop, I don't know why I haven't yet.