THE ATTACK – The Review

Review by Dane Marti

I needed to see this film. Recently, after taking relatives to see ‘The Man of Steel,’ I was seriously wondering why I still appreciated motion pictures. As an Art Form, are films dying a slow, miserable death– juvenile crap at the multiplex? Without a story, the latest Superman film, even with first-rate special effects, left me cold. I needed something to being me back from the edge of disillusionment.

However, right as I am about to throw in the towel, a foreign film comes along that, although low budget and without a single Computer-Generated piece of eye candy, arrives just in time to once again jump-start my aging soul.

“The Attack’ is an extremely mature film. It deals with a timely, controversial subject in a way that grabs hold of the viewer without ever appearing contrived or over the top. Many teenagers would find it boring.

Some viewers might want to veer away from a story, which deals with the Israeli-Arab conflicts in the Middle East. Of course, anyone with a pulse has opinions on the trouble between the different cultures, the violence and death being fought between the religions and territory. And, with Terrorism as a horrific, modern reality that touches everyone, this is a damn serious film.

However, although this controversial subject is often seen through a wide angle, ‘objective’ point of view on the evening news, ‘Attacks’ narrative cuts directly to the heart of the problem: Impeccably acted by Ali Suliman, the main character, Amin Jaafari is a well-respected doctor/surgeon living in Tel Aviv. He is also a Palestinian, but has found of a home among his Jewish co-workers. As the film begins, he says goodbye to his attractive wife (ostensibly she is going to Nazareth to see family) and he is picking up a medical award.

Everything is peachy-keen with his life, his career and his marriage. Oh, occasionally he has a problem with someone who cannot overlook his background, but taking everything into account, his life is good. Or so he believes.

The following day, while having lunch with his friends on the rooftop of the hospital, an explosion is heard a few miles away. People inform him that a terrorist blew up a local restaurant. Soon, the injured and mutilated arrive at the hospital and we see how dedicated and altruistic he is. He is a good man, doing his best to save lives.

Without a doubt, he is a great surgeon, in complete control of his surroundings…until he is called to a local morgue to view the remains of… his wife, killed in the restaurant explosion within the city. What is she doing in the city? Amin is shocked, stunned: It is as if he had been in the hideous carnage and lost a limb. As he attempts to come to grips with the loss of his wife (their relationship is lyrically, lovingly shown in evocative flashbacks), he is taken to police headquarters and interrogated. Far from being consoled for the horrific and sudden loss of his wife, the authorities believe he had something to do with the bloodshed! After all, he is informed, his wife had been the Terrorist, the instigator of the heinous attack, supposedly wearing explosives attached to her body.

Without being heavy-handed, Amin begins to investigate the nightmare, diligently trying to make sense of the terrible experience: Through Amin’s point of view, the audience and Amin become one in their quest to find answers. Like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller grafted onto a completely believable narrative, the film mesmerizes without becoming heavy-handed, loudly proclaiming the director/writers political slant on the proceedings, the viewer is left to reach his own conclusions.

Amin and the audience viewing the film, slice into the skin of turmoil and violence inherent within Tel Aviv (his close Jewish friends begin to have reservations about where he stands on religion, on politics, on life…Can he be trusted?), as well as his Palestinian homeland of Nablus (where even family members believe he has been brainwashed by a comfortable existence, unable to understand the struggle for survival that Arabs face. Did he even consider himself a Muslim?)

In many respects, the film has the feel of a well-lit documentary, but it still has a riveting, suspenseful narrative. Obviously, this story is not too far out. No C.G. here! The tale glistens with honesty; it’s a universal story of pain, confusion and loss. Why do people often make choices which most of the world might find horrendous? Do we ever know the people we love? Who is a psychopath? As he comes to grips with his wife’s apparent martyrdom, Amin also realizes that he is in the middle of a mystery. His perceptions have been shattered–nothing seems to make sense. The surgeon is a dedicated, although disillusioned soul, trying to figure out what happened without needing to turn evidence over to anyone; he goes on a journey for his own peace of mind.

I was terribly impressed with the director, Ziad Doueiri. He handled the characters and visuals with a deft, incisive hand.

Obviously, this reviewer went into the film as humanly objective as it’s possible to be. Obviously, everyone has strong beliefs. I have opinions on a plethora of subjects and the majority does probably not appreciate some of them. However, when it came to this film and this volatile subject, I wanted to open my heart and see both sides. Like everyone, I have core beliefs about what I believe is right and wrong—my own surreal morality. Not a political work which attempts to unmask a great injustice (or make the viewer believe right is wrong/wrong is right) but in its own humanistic, poetic way, the film quietly presents viewers with both sides of a passionate and painful conflict.
There’s no doubt about it: This is a sterling piece of heartfelt and real cinema!

5 of 5 Stars

THE ATTACK is currently playing St. Louis at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Theater

I needed to see this film. Recently, after taking relatives to see ‘The Man of Steel,’ I was seriously wondering why I still appreciated motion pictures. As an Art Form, are films dying a slow, miserable death– juvenile crap at the multiplex? Without a story, the latest Superman film, even with first-rate special effects, left me cold.  I needed something to being me back from the edge of disillusionment.