The Bubble

It's one of the best movies I've seen in the last 2 years (I've seen the premier in Tel-Aviv, Israel in the summer of 2006, exactly when the last war has began...) This problem in communication between the people, that causes wars, is interesting me for a long time, and it doesn't matter who- boys and girls, straight and gays, Jews and Arabs... I've seen the Bubble already 3 times, and it still surprising and exciting me- each character reminds me of one of the many people i know, and the difference between them, like between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem... The last time i saw it- was with my friend, who is a Christian Arab, and it was on the independence day of Israel ( the most symbolic i could ! how ironic) and... he cried in the end!!! - if he's been touched and wasn't embarrassed- everyone would be touched by The Bubble!

Here's one more beauty in the string of beautiful films directed by Eytan Fox. The movie presents the story of star-crossed lovers (one Israeli, one Palestinian)in modern Tel Aviv. The film's effectiveness comes not only from its depiction of cross-ethnic conflict, but of conflicts personal and political within ethnic groups as well. For example, there's a telling moment when one of the secondary characters, openly gay, is visited in the hospital by his boyfriend who brings him flowers and tries to kiss him in front of his visiting family, and suddenly we see a wave of awkward discomfort wash through the room. Clearly the young man is not as open as he seems, and the family not as accepting as he might want them to be, while the boyfriend is confused and rejected. A good deal of complexity is packed into a fleeting moment. As we know from Yossi & Jagger, Fox is a master at efficiently packing emotional and psychological complexity into brief sequences. The film is also effective for the even-handed way it presents the mutual brutalities that Israelies and Palestinians inflict on each other. If you're not heartless, you'll cry through the last third of the movie. Though the plot is melodramatic, it's so intelligently written and acted that it reminds us of how satisfying good melodrama can be.

I've seen nearly all of this director's film and found somethings that were not to my taste in all of them. This particular film, because it focus on a political conflict with religious and historical reaches that go back centuries, will never be simply viewed as a piece of art, but for the purpose of this review, I will limit my comments to technical ones regarding the film, performances, scripts, production, etc.

Technically, this is a very proficient film. The performances are, for the most part, uniformly good, particularly among the leads and most of the significant supporting characters. The description of it by some users as a sort of Sex In The City / Friend's hybrid is only correct to the extent that parts of the movie have that vibe and such relationships are universal, irrespective of whether the friends are in New York, Tel Avi, Buenos Aires or Tokyo. However, this movie is not a situation comedy by any stretch of anyone's imagination, nor does it resolves its problems in neat, compact story arcs. The script presents many interesting and intriguing elements. Where it takes liberties, it is clear that these are necessary to move the story forward.

The movie is watchable and well-made. It's certainly worth the rental and certainly thought- provoking. However, I cannot give it a strong recommendation purely for the fact that it disappointed me greatly in certain key parts, particularly the ending.

Here's my take on this rather needlessly long movie!

The balance of this story, the message of this movie, the morality of the plot, rest upon one character - Ashraf ! Ashraf ultimately gave into the sociopolitical hackery of his Palestinian cultural upbringing.

He appears to have no border problems with his access into Tel Aviv, Israel. Here he meets Noam, a young Israeli soldier. Love follows! In Israel Ashraf can follow his heart and openly love another man. Noam appears to have no inhibition in being openly gay - but Ashraf is emotionally in turmoil expressing his true hearts desire.

So Ashraf seeks his families approval. In doing so he incurs their wrath. He knew this would be their reaction but he seeks approval anyway. Ashraf then gives into the hate he was raised to believe and seeks his revenge upon Noam because Noam and his friends let Ashraf be who he truly is.

I failed to grasp just why this movie is titled 'The Bubble'. Because the main characters - Noam and his friends - seem to only seek to be who they truly are and reject the sociopolitical hackery they are raised to believe where instead Ashraf ends up giving into this mental bubble he was raised to believe even after he experiences the ability to believe otherwise.

This is a sweet, poignant look at young lives and loves in Tel Aviv and the damning, degrading effects of the political landscape around it. The central characters laughingly call Tel Aviv "the Bubble" because it seems insulated from the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Territories. As the movie brings to light, that is clearly not the case. The hatred, anger, blind violence, "otherization" and decades (centuries?) of mistrust on both sides color everything and everyone the question becomes are they blind to it or just so scarred they can't recognize it.

The movie focuses on the relationships — familial, sexual and friendships — between three long-time friends, two gay men and one hetero woman. Their chemistry and crazy lives would make for an entirely enjoyable romantic comedy without the layers of cultural context and history, but with the addition of, it creates a memorable, urgent and rewarding story.

When one of the men falls for a gay Palestinian, their bubble is popped irreversibly as they are all forced to confront the realities of life in a region defined — and seemingly sustained by — hatred. And being a gay Palestinian, it would seem, means twice the agony and hardships as there is little tolerance for alternative life styles within that culture and religion. That's less the case in Israel, at least according to the movie.

I appreciated the straightforward, unflinching approach the film brought to the love scenes, regardless of orientation. The sex scenes between the men were just as sweet, tentative and passionate — more so in fact — than the sex scenes featuring the girl. Even though the movie is now six years old, this approach resonates with me because same-sex scenes usually lack the same … panache as different-sex scenes, at least in Hollywood style movies. (Hollywood, check the election results and get with the times; love is love).

The entire cast was effective, but Daniella Wircer as Lulu was awesome. She had such great energy; truly a rare talent.

This is a fine movie and one that, it seems to a westerner, excavates the Israeli/Palestinian conflict effectively and without finger-pointing. It also reminds us that we all have a role to play in ending hatred and cycles of violence.

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