Mon fils

The Israeli film "Dancing Arabs" was shown in the U.S. as "A Borrowed Identity." It was directed by Eran Riklis. The movie stars Tawfeek Barhom as Eyad, a Palestinian boy who is an Israeli citizen. Although his plight isn't as bad as a non-Israeli Palestinian, he is nonetheless a second-class citizen. (Palestinian citizens work in restaurants as dishwashers. Jewish citizens work as waiters.)

Despite being Palestinian, Eyad is allowed to attend a prestigious Israeli boarding school. Naturally, he's the target of racial slurs, but he isn't physically injured, and he moves forward toward adulthood. As part of a class assignment, he meets Jonathan (Michael Moshonov), a young man who has progressive muscular dystrophy. He also meets an Israeli girl, Naomi, played by Daniel (Danielle) Kitsis. Naomi is intelligent and loving, but the question is whether their relationship has a future, because of their cultural and religious differences.

The plot moves in unexpected directions, and the movie is emotionally powerful and gripping. The acting is excellent, and I think the plot represents a balanced picture of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, as it plays out among individuals.

We saw this movie at the Little Theatre in Rochester, as part of the highly successful Rochester International Jewish Film Festival. The film will work well on the small screen.

In the 80's, the Palestinian Eyad Barhum is a smart boy that lives with his father, his mother, his two brothers and his grandmother in a small village. His father works picking fruits despite had going to the college because he was a terrorist when he was young. Eyad (Tawfeek Barhom) is accepted by the best high school in Jerusalem and leaves his family to stay in the boarding school. He befriends his Jewish roommate Yonatan Avrahami (Michael Moshonov), who has a degenerative muscular disease, and his Jewish schoolmate Naomi (Danielle Kitsis). Soon Eyad and Naomi fall in love with each other, but they date in secret since Palestinian are not accepted by the Jewish in general. When Naomi's mother learns that she is dating an Arab boy, she takes her daughter out of the school. However, Eya quits school to let his beloved girlfriend continue studying while he studies in homeschooling. When his father learns that he left the prestigious school, he kicks Eyad out of home. Now Eyad needs to find a job, but Arabs can only wash dishes and do not work as waiter, He decides to borrow Yonatan's identity to find a better job, while his friend is languishing at home, and lives with Yonatan and his mother Edna (Yaël Abecassis), who loves Eyad like a son. Soon he must take an ultimate decision to survive in Israel.

"Dancing Arabs" (2014) is a movie with a beautiful story of love, friendship and hatred in a country divided by the hatred of two people. The plot is engaging and heartbreaking in many moments. The cast has magnificent performance and the chemistry between Danielle Kitsis and Tawfeek Barhom is amazing. Danielle Kitsis is one of the most beautiful actresses that I have ever seen, but unfortunately there is only a few information about her in Internet. Her son is also a beautiful child. The friendship of Edna, Yonatan and Eyad is also very beautiful and a hope that one day in the future these two people can forget hatred and live in peace. I sadly learned through this film that Arabs do not speak the "p" and Israeli Arabs are treated like second class citizens in Israel. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Os Árabes Também Dançam" ("The Arabs Also Damce")

According to a 2013 census, 20.7% of Israel's population are Israeli Arabs, citizens of Israel who consider themselves Palestinian by nationality. The problems that arise from these conflicting allegiances are dramatized in Avram Riklis'("Zaytoun") film Dancing Arabs, a title that denotes those who have to straddle two cultures and "dance at two weddings." Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Sayed Kashua (who also wrote the script), Dancing Arabs, known also as "A Borrowed Identity," was the opening film of the Jerusalem Film Festival in July 2014 and was scheduled to be released immediately, but was held back until now because of the war in Gaza.

The film, however, is not designed to stir up ethnic animosity but is rather a heartfelt coming-of-age story that transcends cultural barriers. Set in Tira, a predominantly Arab city in the Southern Triangle near the West Bank, the film begins in the 1980s. Eyad (Razi Gabareen), a brilliant young boy is praised by his father Salah (Ali Suliman, "Flying Home") who recognizes his potential to achieve more than he did in his life. Salah himself attended university in Jerusalem but, after serving jail time because of political activity supporting the Arab cause, now works as a fruit picker.

When the class is asked in school what their fathers do for a living, Eyad says repeatedly that his father is a terrorist and refuses to change his mind even when he is hit repeatedly on the hands by the teacher, demanding he say that he is a fruit picker. When Eyad (now played by Tawfeek Barhom, "Farewell Bagdhad") is of age he is sent to a Jerusalem boarding school where his experience of trying to fit in becomes the centerpiece of the film. As the only Arab among Jews, he is an outsider who must learn to speak a new language, study a curriculum weighted against the Arab point of view, and put up with teasing by bullies.

His difficulty with language is suggested by a scene in which Eyad pronounces the name of a rock band "Deeb Burble," because, unlike in Hebrew, there's no "p" in Arabic. As time passes, things begin to improve. One of the best scenes in the film is Eyad's eloquence in a literature class, angrily pointing out Israeli literature's inherent bias toward Arab characters, a courageous statement that even wins the plaudits of some Jewish classmates. Further, when an attractive, free-spirited classmate, Naomi (Daniel Kitsis, "S#x Acts"), takes an interest in him, they begin a relationship that grows deeper in spite of its being frowned on by society and both sets of parents.

As part of Eyad's community service requirement, he works with Yonatan (Michael Moshonov, "Policeman") a wheel-chair bound victim of Muscular Dystrophy who loves alternative rock and has a wicked sense of humor. Yonatan's mother Edna (Yael Abecassis, "That Lovely Girl") welcomes Eyad into her home not only for her Yonatan's benefit but because she genuinely likes him. Yonatan can relate to Eyad's feeling of being separate and apart from others, though the reason is very different. "Sometimes I forget you're an Arab," Yonatan says. "Me too," replies Eyad. "Don't worry," his friend responds. "Someone will always remind you."

Dancing Arabs is not a political film and the Arab-Israeli conflict remains marginal, only occasionally referred to when Eyad's family, mother (Laetitia Eido, "Article 23") and grandmother's (Marlene Bajali, "The Syrian Bride") instinctively pull for Saddam Hussein in the 1991 Gulf War until they realize what he is up against. The film is basically about good people trying to make the most of a bad situation and the fact that they are so alienated from each other because of cultural and ethnic differences is a sad commentary on the lack of political will on both sides.

While people may expect violence in a film that deals with ethnic conflict, here there are no grand dramatic gestures that turn children into martyrs, only constant reminders of everyday barriers to a sense of belonging. Even when Eyad learns the language, repeats the Jewish version of history in school, and strives to become a model Arab Israeli citizen, he is reminded every day at checkpoints and roadblocks of his being different. The political situation in Israel has deep-seated roots and we know not to expect the issues raised in the film to easily resolve themselves, yet Riklis leaves several threads hanging and insists on a forced resolution that does not ring true. While this is a regrettable choice, it does not detract from a truly fine effort.

Actually that is not true, but it does have a premise that is easy to relate to and if you have the quality writing engage the viewer to be interested in the story. And this has the quality to pull it off. It's not an easy movie to watch, though that doesn't mean, we don't get lighter scenes too.

Of course the conflict is there and the characters have to deal with a history, that is so complex that one movie alone could not do justice to it all. You have to really engage this open minded and not blinded by one side and see one side as bad or worse than the other. This is a human story after all and it plays out like that. You really feel for the main characters and their struggle, something the movie is really adamant on showing the viewer ...

"Of course, I'm aware of the animosities destroying brain cells on both sides, and I know all about the obstinacy of the warring parties, their refusal to reach an agreement, their devotion to their own murderous hatred…." Yasmina Khadra, The Attack

Identity is indeed the heart of A Borrowed Identity about Palestinian boy, Ayed (Tawfeek Barhom), sent to a premiere boarding school in Jerusalem, but beset by prejudice against him and decisions about which culture he should embrace. This informative film is a crash course in cultural clash with enough character and interpersonal drama to satisfy the most discerning cinephile. Those who found The Attack an unforgettable interpretation of the conflict will have a similar reaction to this film.

From the early '80's nothing is going right for Palestinians: Israel dominates the split of the region while Hamas begins to retaliate. Meanwhile Ayed has the misfortune to fall in love with a Jew, Naomi (Daniel Kitsis), whose love will drive some of his basic decisions, like staying at the boarding school, and therefore his life.

The charm of this film is that it does not take sides, just empathizes with the protagonist, whose love is not only natural but also an emblem of the absurdity of cultural wars when one considers that it's really about people, whose loves cannot be controlled, and shouldn't be. Her mother would rather Naomi be "a lesbian, a drug addict, or has cancer" than be in love with an Arab.

The more time director Eran Riklis lets us spend with these Romeo- and-Juliet lovers, the more we are convinced the Arab-Israeli conflict is an absurdity born of historical hatreds that really shouldn't apply in the modern World. The tragedy is that Ayed must deal with the debilitating prejudice daily and make decisions on it rather than his natural love and brilliance.

But that conflict is what makes A Borrowed Identity such a watchable drama that gives more insight into that region of the world than all the Wikipedia articles touching on the Arab-Israeli conflict.