Amerrika

Back in the late 1980's early 1990's(especially during Operation Desert Scam),there was a plague of anti Arab sentiment that enveloped the United States for a good part of the decade. Things did not fare any better in the wake of September 11th,2001,and only managed to get worse with George W.Bush attacking Iraq. Hollywood,predictably got on that vile band wagon & produced some pretty vile films,depicting all Arab & Arab/Americans as ruthless terrorists. Despite the fact that most of these attitudes still exist,Canada produced a wonderful film about a Palestinian woman & her son coming to America for a better life. This film is 'Amreeka' (the Arabic word for America). Cherien Dabis writes & directs,from her own original screenplay,a tale of finding home. Muna Farah is a single mother,dealing with the daily grind of living in occupied Palestine (spot checks at the border are a regular way of life,as well as the wall separating the Gaza strip from Isreal,where motorists have to contend with driving out of their way, just to get to work,etc.). With the money she has been saving for some time,Muna & her teen-aged son,Fadi,make it to America,where they live with her sister,Raghda & her family. Sounds like an idyllic picture,doesn't it? Guess again. Muna & Fadi have to deal with the growing racism against Arabs. Does she manage to rise above it all & make America her home? That's for you to find out. Nisreen Faour shines as Muna,a woman who has been kicked around for far too long. Melkar Muallem earns kudos as her son,Fadi. Hiam Abbass is her sister, Raghda (a winning performance). The rest of the cast turns in fine performances,as well. This is quality film making that deserves to be experienced,even if you're not Arab. Spoken in Arabic with English subtitles,and English. Rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some salty language,some drug related material & some mild violence

In the heartfelt indy film, AMREEKA, one of the truly standout acting finds, is the beautifully performed role of Muna, played by Nisreen Faour - a divorced Palestinian woman, with a teenage son, Fadi (played by Melkar Muallem), who decides to leave their home country, and travel to America (actually, it was filmed in Canada).

Muna has several degrees, but, due them not being accepted, she must work at a White Castle.

Her son's quiet, and, as is often the case - but worse - is picked on, as the 'new kid,' but, being Arab, at this time, the whole conflict between westerners and the Arab countries comes into play - with Fadi being use as the totem, for the 'terrorist' as well as the 'cause' another classmate's brother (a soldier) went into the military.

All through this hard, and difficult time of transition, Muna has an optimism, and chutzpa, and, a warmth, that had me wishing she was my mom.

I wasn't planning to watch AMREEKA, but, after seeing the first few minutes, I became so engrossed in this determined woman to MAKE things work out for her, and her son, I watched it through. And, am happy I did.

You will be too.

What happens when your life is turned upside down by your husband divorcing you for a slimmer, younger woman and walls are built around where you live adding hours every day to your commute to work and you spend every penny to keep your son in a private school? You take the first best opportunity that comes along to get out of that situation. Muna, a Palestinian single woman, does just that when she receives an offer to relocate free to America. This begins the adventures and misadventures of someone immigrating to America with the hopes and promises of a better life. She lands in a small town in Illinois to live (temporarily is the plan) with her sister and physician husband and teenage children until she can establish herself and son. She has two degrees and has had professional experience in the work world so it shouldn't take long - wrong! Told with humor as well as heartbreak (it's just after 9/11and anyone from the Middle East is the enemy), this National Geographic film is a reminder of why people still come to AMREEKA and how easy it is to be misunderstood and to struggle to make a living no matter how hard you are willing to work. It is worth watching by families whose children may be finding it difficult to accept those who don't talk or dress or act just like us. Changing schools as an American teenager can be very difficult. Try coming from another country, especially one we see as an adversary. Highly recommend.

"Amreeka" has, I would say, all the freshness and the weaknesses an indie movie comes with. Being about a family of Palestinian immigrants struggling to find their way in America and facing all kind of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab stereotypes, this movie cannot escape its own stereotypes. It is a movie that looks schematic in many of its moments. Not in all moments, let's be clear on this point. It is a movie breathing of sincerity and it has a certain pathos. However, sometimes it seems that it gathers all the bad guys on one side and the good guys on the other (you can guess who are the bad guys, and who are the good ones). And after all these, the end seems idyllic; they want to send the good message so to speak, only I'm wandering whether it happens like that also in real life.

Well, one can say that this movie is dealing with a reality which is by itself schematic. This is true: bigotry of any kind is always schematic (to name the least of its sins). The problem is that a movie has an artistic reality of its own, and this artistic reality must be convincing, regardless how schematic the depicted reality could be.

The great asset of this movie is the lead actress, Nisreen Faour. She creates an unforgettable personage, with passion, with honesty, with conviction and stamina. And she is so amazing that the whole movie is contaminated by her enthusiasm and good will.

Let me mention here also Hiam Abbass , a very good actress that I have also seen in many other movies (The Visitor, Munich, Paradise Now, The Syrian Bride).

I discovered Amreeka thanks to looking at past Independent Spirit Award winners and nominees. This American-Canadian-Kuwaiti joint venture was nominated for Best Film. It's a terrifically personal look at a single woman's journey from Palestine to small town rural America. She wants a better life for her teenage son and takes the opportunity to immigrate to the United States. Her son is very excited, knowing full well what great opportunities they can have in the U.S. Unfortunately this is happening just after the United States launched Operation Iraqi Freedom to liberate Iraq from the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. The film does not delve into the political and stays personal for the most part, dealing with the idiocy of prejudiced morons at the time, intolerant of Arabs as well as the struggles this woman and her son have. Fortunately the film also shows Americans without ignorance who accept Arab immigrants as neighbors and fellow human beings who deserve just as much respect as the next person. I was impressed from the get-go and would recommend this to all.

7.9 / 10 stars

--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener