Wajib - L'invitation au mariage

Humorous drama is the most novel weapon of the war-torn communities. Instead of in-your-face depiction of sufferings and tragedies which leads to a quick rise-and-fall of emotional reaction (sigh, tsk tsk, and go on as before), humorous drama tackles, tickles, and trigger the thoughts of its audience. "Et maintenant on va où?" by Nadine Labaki was a very very successful one in this sense. Now another female director from another Arabian country raises the bar as high.

Firstly, the invitation delivery is technically a very good idea to take the audience to a tour among the portraits from the Christian Arab population of Palestine. This way, while cutting every scene short and painless enough to keep the viwever attentive, the sense of continuity doesn't get disrupted as if watching a talking-heads documentary.

But what is more important is the content. There are two main characters, the father and the son. We see the father telling lies (doesn't matter white or not) to comfort fellow citizens, or compromising with the occupants etc. On the other hand the son is unbending in his political and even asthetical standards. But, as time passes by, we understand how hard is the father's struggle to unite his "family" (read as his "nation") again back in Palestine. All his flaws are actually developed to achieve this aim. And yes, his son's discourse is flawless, because he enjoys being free from the hardships of the everyday life in Palestine and has no concerns about the reunion of the Palestenians in the fatherland.

So apparently the father represents the practical, real Palestine whereas the son represents the ideal. But the clash of these two is not at all theatrical, nor didactical. The dialogues are so real that in the end the viewer does not feel herself "injected" by the director's ideas, she just starts to rethink about and compare her ideals and practices.

Well worth watching to normalise your view about Palestine and what life is like for Palestinian people when they are not at war with Israelis, which is what the news seems to focus upon in the main.

It operates on various levels and is well put together. Another good movie to undo the stereo-typing that tends to afflict the reporting of communities and countries around the world.

Beautiful peaceful movie showing daily life inside Nazareth Arabic city. The final scene with Athaan voice in the background reminds me of my home. Some people may find the movie slow, but it's the kind of movies you watch to relax.

After hearing about the movie, I finally watched it... But it was so painful to watch because it reached the point of becoming boring. The idea is good, but the story and treatment were unsuccessful. The movie's pace is so slow it contributes to boring the spectator. And the ending leaves us hanging on. And frankly I wanted more...

A stunning showcase of everyday life in Occupied Palestine, particularly Nazareth. The portrayal of father and son was so beautiful, showing the loving and complex relationships with families and children who leave their home countries. Although this film focuses on one particular father and son, I imagine it will be relatable for many. The other characters were wonderful too and you could really imagine the lives they lived. I loved the portrayal of community connections. This film was full of love and very delicate yet informative. It portrayed the unfair treatment that Palestinians have to go through daily, from a very human perspective. Intertwining the harsh realities of life for Palestinians in Israeli Occupation, with the love of community and portrayal of everyday life. Extremely well done.