Riklis takes no sides in 2-sided conflict.
It’s rare that the supposed happiest day for a new bride-to-be contains such a feeling of dread. Filmmaker Eran Riklis manages to look at the hating without doing the accusing with a text that discusses politics without getting political and a narrative that spews a benevolent social commentary that honestly logs the tensions of a border. The Syrian Bride is a dramedy that manages to pull off a rare coup – it doesn’t offend or defend any beliefs, instead it shows the stupidity in the matter created by barriers.
Sort of like the difference between a regular jail cell and one with a window view – we’ll there might be some fresh air breezes the only scenery available are concrete slabs. Israeli rules state that once Syrian descendents leave the state they no longer have the right to re-enter their country. Sacrifice, freedom and the pursuit for a happier life are the main themes in this tale scripted by Riklis an Israeli Jew and Suha Arraf a Palestinian Israeli. Making Maria Full of Grace’s border dilemma seem like a walk in a park, this border crossing story from hell has little to do with the character of the bride but instead concentrates on a fractured family who struggle between a life of no freedom with backbone fundamental religious beliefs and personal freedom at the expense of losing a part of one’s soul.
Such as the middle-east peace process, The Syrian Bride is delivered with a checkpoint controlled pacing, lots of building up in tension is created with the family reunion and then ultimately transferred in the extremely tedious paperwork and officially stamped visas finale. Shot in the political hot spot of Golan Heights, this was born from Riklis’ documentary film about the borders around Israel. Sporting a happy face with a topic about divide, occupation and lack of rights, the strength of the 2004 Montreal film festival winner is that it speaks from different perspectives and different voices which only adds a balance to the angle of the film.
Viewed in original languages with French subtitles.
