As always, these reviews have spoilers…
Omar is a Palestinian film that had limited release in the United States but has been well received critically.
The twisting plot simultaneously concerns a group of freedom fighters and their interactions with the Israeli government and a love triangle. One of the most powerful elements of this movie is how it demonstrates how personal politics are. There is no clear distinction between the political environment and the characters’ personal lives.
There are five primary characters in the movie. Omar (Adam Bakri)is the lead character through whom we see the story unfold. Amjad (Samer Bisharat) is a childhood friend. Tarek is the leader of the freedom fighters and a mentor to both Omar and Amjad. Nadia (Leem Lubany) is Tarek’s and the love interest of both Omar and Amjad. Agent Rami (Waleed Zuaiter) is an Israeli agent who encounters Omar in prison and drives much of the action.
The Story of Omar
At the beginning of the film, we learn that both Omar and Amjad are in love with Nadia, though from the viewer’s perspective (Omar’s perspective), it is clear she really loves Omar. The three freedom fighters also embark on a mission where they kill an Israeli soldier. While it seems they got away with it, they are soon running from the authorities. Omar is caught. While in prison, He courageously resists torture and refuses to confess or reveal the other conspirators. Agent Rami dressed up like a Palestinian prisoner to trick Omar into saying, “I will never confess,” which, according to the Israeli courts, is the same as a confession. To get out, Omar then makes a deal with Rami that he does not plan on keeping.
Once out of prison, Omar’s plans backfire. He ends up back in prison but makes another deal to try to figure out who is betraying the freedom fighters. He soon discovers that Amjad is the mole. When Omar confronts his friend, Omjad, he confesses that he has done it because he got Nadia pregnant, and the Israelis were holding it over him. Omar makes Majad confess to Tarek, and in the issuing fight, Tarek dies. Omar and Amjad use Agent Rami to cover this up, and then Omar makes it possible for Amjad to marry Nadia.
However, a few years later, Agent Rami reappears and begins to manipulate Omar again. Omar returns to Nadia, whom he has not seen in two years, only to discover she was never pregnant as Amjad had claimed. Omar convinces Rami to give him a gun to kill Amjad, but the movie ends with Omar using the gun to kill Rami. There is no resolution at the film’s conclusion, which is perfect for a movie about the tension between Palestine and Israel.
The Limits of Our Sacrifice
I tend to look for redemptive themes in movies. However, they are very hard to find in Omar. It is a movie that is filled with distrust and little to no grace offered. Initially, I thought about the disjuncture that happens in a graceless environment. However, it occurred to me that there is one character who repeatedly sacrifices himself- Omar. He sacrifices himself twice when he is in prison to protect the other freedom fighters. Most importantly, though, he sacrifices his love for Nadia for what he believes will be in her best interest.
Ultimately, Omar’s sacrifice leads to nothing. On a theological level, I cannot help but compare this to Christ’s sacrifice and the tremendous difference in outcome. The sacrifice of a mere human can be powerful, but it is limited. Over the course of history, few of our sacrifices will have a significant impact. Christ’s sacrifice, however, is a very different story.
The Boy, The Money, The Sugar, and The Stone
Early in the movie, Amjad tells a story about how monkeys are caught in Africa. He explains that the monkeys are given sugar and eventually become addicted to it. When they are ready to catch the monkeys, they put the sugar in a trap, and the monkeys reach their hand in but won’t let go of the sugar, so they are caught. Omar tells this story again at the very end of the movie before he shoots Agent Rami. This whole time, Rami believed Omar was the money. Rami felt he had trained Omar to do what he wanted. But, in the end, Omar let go of the sugar. He got the upper hand on Rami, who was, in fact, the trained monkey unable to let go of the sugar (Omar).
This monkey story reminded me of a monkey story I heard when I was in Indonesia in 2008. There was a public park full of monkeys. The guides did not want us to go into the park because several years prior, young boys had thought it fun to throw rocks at the monkeys. They inadvertently trained the monkeys to throw rocks back at them. Now, when people enter the park, the monkeys throw rocks. In some ways, it seems that this is exactly what the movie is saying has happened in Palestine. From the perspective of this movie, the Israelis trained the Palestinians to throw rocks.
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Thank you for the great review!
Just an editing note – I think in your title, and in the body of your article, you intended to be using the word monkey where you used the word money.
Thank you! What an embarassing mistake.
How come omar did not continue
I’m not sure what you mean by this.
I was wondering why Amjad lied about getting Nadia pregnant…
The ending of your review troubles me. It sounds like you are likening Palestinians to monkeys?
Thank you for taking the time to engage. The intent of the last paragraph is certainly not to derogatorily compare Palestinians to monkeys. Quite the opposite. The point is actually about the film’s perspective of unintended consequences of how the Israelis have treated the Palestinians.