Rana's Wedding

This film demonstrates that Arabs living under so-called Jewish "occupation" enjoy greater artistic freedom than under any Arab regime. Nowhere else in the Middle East can one make a film with the permission of the authorities which portrays those authorities in a negative way and live to tell about it. Perceptions of Palestinians as starving refugees will immediately be dispelled by the protagonists' modern middle class lifestyle. The inconvenience to Arabs' daily lives is no doubt accurately portrayed but also highlights the fact that Israel has put a stop to terrorism by the most humane means possible and without cluster-bombing villages, as the U.S. did in Afghanistan and Vietnam.

Rana is a 17-year-old Palistinian girl who dresses in slacks and a sweater. Her father tells her she must either quickly choose a husband from a list, or travel to Egypt with him where he will send her to school.She only has 10 hours to do this. Right way this plot seems silly.Anyway, the father doesn't know that she already has a boyfriend, a theatrical director, who is stuck in the outskirts of the city because of a recent bombing. There are a lot of scenes of the girl trying to find him and panicking as the hours tick away. Finally she finds him where he is sleeping on a stage. She wakes him up and asks him to get married that very day. At first he hesitates but then he gives in. This whole part is very strange because the audience has no idea of what their relationship is like, how they met, or whether they even like each other.The rest of the film consists of all the hurdles they have to go through in order to get married that day. Not only do they have to find a magistrate, they also have to convince the father to accept the groom. I wish I could have felt something for the couple but they don't even seem affectionate.The biggest hurdle of all, however, is the many roadblocks that they have to deal with. Israeli soldiers are everywhere and there are constant inconveniences because of this. Finally, the wedding takes place right out on the street because of all the traffic jams.I know this film was supposed to make a statement about Israeli occupation. However, it was simply a poorly made film. I was bored throughout as many scenes just had the girl walking down the street. There were also extra scenes that didn't relate to the plot. I also never did get a good feel of the Palestinian culture or their wedding rituals. The story was silly. The script poorly written. And the acting bad.O.K. I did get a small view of the terrain. But so what?

This is a fairly typical Palestinian movie that explores the issues of barriers that keep people apart and that keep people from living a "normal" life. In this case, Rana, young Palestinian woman finds herself facing an arranged marriage in Egypt because she has not chosen an acceptable man from a list her father has given her. Her father has told her that if she isn't married by 4:00 he will take her to Egypt. The movie covers her day as she tries to avoid this situation. Her strategy is to find her boyfriend and convince him to get married. At first she cannot find him and then there are a number of obstacles to overcome and swings in emotion. Most people will probably enjoy this movie because it shows the main characters moving around the streets of Jerusalem so you get to see a number of scenes you might not normally see in the news. It also shows some of the little struggles Palestinians go through. When all is said and done the ending is fairly happy but the message is sort of political, even though part of the conflict comes from social expectations.The movie has sort of a sad and depressed tone most of the time and kind of an odd brown-yellowish tint which sort of adds to the feeling of exasperation. This is an interesting film, if not an uplifting one. The main character has appeared in another well-known film as a bride (The Syrian Bride) so it seems a little odd to see her in somewhat of a similar role here, but the movie is worth checking out.

'Rana's Wedding' is a wonderful film. It not only tells the story of a young Palestinian girl who is determined to be united with her beloved but gives a compelling and realistic view of the Zionist Occupation. The wedding occurs finally at a Chequepoint, and a powerful poem by Mahmoud Darwish concludes the film. 'Rana's Wedding' actually does not preach politics at all. It simply shows the reality of Palestine under Occupation. Apart from that, however, the manner in which the eternal beauty of Jerusalem is captured in this film is an extraordinary achievement, and rivals any photograph or film I ever saw about Al Quds.