Mit den Augen eines Diebes

In this well written and directed excellent movie, Najwa Najjar avoids to a certain extent the temptation to get involved in the typical political debate between Israel and its foes as the drama centers around a man (starring the famous Egyptian actor Khaled Abu Naga), whose one life target after spending long years in prison becomes nothing other than finding his missing daughter. As the story does not forget to include a sweet and innocent touch of romance, this excellent piece of art which depicts the day by day life under the longest military occupation in modern history, also tackles many issues that Palestinians face as they try to move on with their lives under military occupation, be it the shortage of water supplies that the Israelis control, the need for jobs, or the existence of collaborators among them as well as underground resistance fighters, let alone a fact that many westerners seem to miss, that the Palestinian people are Moslems and Christians !!. Anyone who watches "Eyes of a Thief", will not only learn a thing or two about life in the occupied Palestinian territories, but will definitely find himself enjoying a very good movie.

I was surprised by how good is this movie. The main actor Khaled Abul Naga did a great job in this movie without saying much. His performance was superb in delivering the emotions. The movie depicts the struggles of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the cruelty of the Israeli occupation and detention, and the overall control they have over Palestinian daily movements and basic life necessities such as water. The story is good and there are multiple twists. The kids actors were great too. The movie shed a light on life under Israeli occupation which many in the western countries may not know much about it.

Eyes of a Thief (2014) is a Palestinian film written and directed by Najwa Najjar. Kal Naga is played by the Egyptian star Khaled Abol Naga. Kal, a water engineer, has spent ten years in an Israeli prison. He returns home to find that his wife is dead, and his daughter is missing.

With bitter determination, Kal tracks his daughter to her most likely location, and believes he has found her under the care of a woman named Lila (Souad Massi). His daughter is a tough, no-nonsense young woman. She is portrayed brilliantly by Malak Ermileh. The acting of all three leads was excellent.

What we all want is for Kal to marry Lila and live happily ever after with his daughter and his new wife. This isn't Hollywood, this is Occupied Palestine, which isn't a place where a happy ending is guaranteed from the start. The plot has twists and turns that we don't expect. You'll have to see the movie to find out what they are.

We saw the film at the excellent Little Theatre in Rochester, NY. It was shown as part of the wonderful Witness Palestine Rochester Film Festival. After the movie, there was Q&A with Khaled Abol Naga via Skype. Naga is perfectly fluent in English, and his remarks were very helpful. Even though he's not Palestinian, he understands and sympathizes with the Palestinian people. Every woman I spoke to admired his looks--comments ranged from "drop-dead gorgeous" to "impossibly handsome." The good news is that he can also really act.

This film will work well on the small screen. Watch it on DVD or BluRay if you can't see it in a theater. The movie has a modest IMDb rating of 6.9. It's much better than that.

It's supposed to be the story of a father's search for his daughter who was adopted when he was taken prisoner in the siege of 2002 during the 2nd Intifada.

Tarek Khodor (Khaled Abol Naga) starts to do this until he travels to Nablus in the West Bank to look for his daughter. This quest is sidelined when he takes on the job of water engineer. While this development somehow enriches the plotline, it nonetheless veers away from the story's chief thrust without being able to resolve the main plot convincingly. The viewer is unsure whether Tarek recognizes Malak as his long lost daughter as events take precedence in his mind. For example, the climactic scene refers to something else while the final scene says as much. The message is muddled as a result. Thus, the question ultimately is who's the thief here? Perhaps, the film's title should be changed to be consistent with its main theme.

Having said these, the actors perform their roles credibly. Special mention goes to Malek Ermileh for a convincing performance as young Malak. A bonus to the viewer are glimpses/great shots of the ancient town of Nablus with its roots in biblical times.

A father's hope to find his daughter who was separated during the Palestinian uprising, based on a true story, set in West Bank..mostly a feel-good movie, nothing exceptional.. interesting fact - Palestinian bride applies henna on her wedding day and the groom rides a horse to venue and guests lead the way, dancing.. (Baraat) .. this was a Palestinian's official entry to academy awards.