Junction 48

The Israeli film Junction 48 (2016) was directed by Udi Aloni. It stars Tamer Nafar is Kareem, a Palestinian living in Israel. (Nafar also co-wrote the screenplay.) The movie costars the intriguing Samar Qupty as his girlfriend Manar.

The film begins with a family tragedy, for which Tamer is indirectly responsible. His feelings of guilt are justified, because he ignored a reasonable request from his father in order to hang out with his friends who live within the drug culture. Of course, any Palestinian living in Israel may want to cope with the daily humiliations of life by turning to drugs. They're not hardened criminals. These guys may be druggies, but they aren't evil.

What keeps Tamer above water is rap music. He says he's going to be the first famous Israeli Palestinian rap musician, and we can see that he might have the talent to be just that. He's popular with Palestinians, but the question is whether he can cross over and be accepted by Israelis.

Manar likes Kareem, and she likes rap music, but the Palestinian elders like neither rap nor Kareem. That means that the couple is being pushed from both sides. How this problem is resolved--or not resolved--represents the plot of the movie.

We saw this film on the large screen in the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, New York. It was shown as part of the outstanding Witness Palestine Rochester Film Festival. The movie will work well on the small screen. Junction 48 is carrying a modest IMDb rating of 6.9. It's not a must-see film, but it's much better than that.

This movie tells the story of a young Palestinian called Kareem, who lives in the city of Lod/Lydda in Israel and dreams of a career as a hip- hop-artist. The history of the city makes it an area of conflict between Jews and Muslims and soon, Kareem gets into a lot of trouble unwillingly.

Although this is the main plot, several other issues are addressed, such as drug-dealing, religious fundamentalism and all kinds of family issues. Very much for 100 minutes.

It may seem like this film is political. But this is not the case. In fact, it shows problems on both sides. Neither the Israelis, nor the Palestinians are shown as the "good ones".

The main message is another one: It is about the importance and power of music to unite people. In this case, it is about hip-hop and rap. But don't worry: You don't need to be familiar with the underground-culture to enjoy this movie and its sound.

But some weaknesses are still there. The acting of some supporting characters is very poor and the film is told in a confusing way at the beginning. Also, it is a weird mixture between a feel-good-movie and a drama.

However, I generally recommend this movie, for it's a enjoyable experience overall.

The pick of the Berlinale Panorama Audience Award has never let me down. Last year that pick was Junction 48 - another hidden masterpiece that I have discovered thanks to that award. The movie shows the harsh reality of the Palestinian in Israel using the very gentle and positive means of the youth culture. And that's what I loved about this movie - it completely involves you in the way of life without making you at the end feeling sick because of all tragedies happening in the movie. The movie also has a good balance of critical comment on all sides of Israeli and Arab society. Both communities have some rotten apples, but also some positive people who want to live, enjoy life and create art. As a final note, make yourself a favor and check the website of the movie. The music videos there will keep the memory of the hip hop movement in Israel with you for a long time.