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A Palestinian prisoner who did 15 years of time in an Israeli jail for an act of revenge tries to pick up his life again after he’s released in Screwdriver (Mafak). This first fiction film from photographer and documentary director Bassam Jarbawi is an ambitious character drama that tries to shed some light on a form of Ptsd that people who have spent a long time in solitary confinement might experience once they go back to real life. This, however, means that the protagonist is frequently in a near-catatonic state as he keeps failing to connect with those around him,...

A Palestinian prisoner who did 15 years of time in an Israeli jail for an act of revenge tries to pick up his life again after he’s released in Screwdriver (Mafak). This first fiction film from photographer and documentary director Bassam Jarbawi is an ambitious character drama that tries to shed some light on a form of Ptsd that people who have spent a long time in solitary confinement might experience once they go back to real life. This, however, means that the protagonist is frequently in a near-catatonic state as he keeps failing to connect with those around him,...

Debuting director-writer Bassam Jarbawi has a great theme with “Screwdriver” and a slick filmmaking style, though at times the surface gets more attention than what’s underneath. Set in the semipermanent Al-Amari Refugee Camp on the Ramallah outskirts, the film tackles the difficulties a man faces in returning to normal life after 15 years in an Israeli prison, exploring the physical and emotional toll that trauma and lost time extract from his damaged psyche. Side characters are unevenly drawn but the more complex lead role, nicely played by Ziad Bakri (“Personal Affairs”), gives it a genuine, affecting core. “Screwdriver” is likely to get a fair amount of rotation on the festival circuit.

Jarbawi’s time at Columbia University’s film school shows with his choice of American Dp David McFarland (“The Ballad of Lefty Brown”) and co-editor Christopher Radcliff, together with his tendency toward quickly played-out scenes that are invariably polished...