I seldom comment on movies here but felt compelled to comment on this one. I say "not what you might expect" because I think a lot of people's reactions to this film are going to be heavily influenced by preconceptions about what this film is supposed to be "about." I can't blame them; if I heard that this was "a film about an Arab family's struggles after immigrating the USA after September 11th," I'd probably groan because I'd have certain expectations too. But this is not a "message" film, and if you go into it looking for messages, you're going to miss the point. Rather than political, this film is personal. You could call it simple, but it's not simplistic. Far from it; it refuses to reduce the subtlety and nuance of life to overt messages. I think that an honest, objective viewing of this movie will reveal that, the "stereotypes" and "simplifications" that some reviewers are seeing, were brought in by the reviewers themselves. This is not a perfect film, but it has a lot more depth, beauty and truth than most family dramas, and certainly more than the didactic work one might expect.
24 Reviews
A Lot of Heart
cl77724 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I had read about Amreeka a few months ago and was eager to see it. I was pleasantly surprised as was Fabio at the realism of this film, the depth of the characters and the relevance and importance of the themes that are explored. The movie tells the tale of a single mother named Muna and her teenage son Fadi, who, tired of the oppression in occupied Palestine (road blocks, constant checks), seize an opportunity to move in with Muna's sister and her husband in the United States. Dreaming of a better life, they are however bitterly disappointed. Muna, who previously worked in a bank, can only obtain a job flipping burgers at White Castle, a fact that she hides from her entire family. Her sister drops her off every day in front of a bank where Muna pretends to work. Her shame in her job is great yet her pride is too high to borrow money from somebody. She lives to provide a good life and education for her son and her extreme care and gentleness are very touching and endearing. The film follows Muna and Fadi's hardships and difficulties and one wonders if they will be able to happily assimilate. Some anti-Arab sentiment is revealed throughout the film and this is a struggle for Muna as she fled her homeland in order to escape persecution only to find it again. Without trying to give too much away, the movie does end on a positive note. The acting is really superb. The entire cast does very well but Muna shines, and her sister stands out particularly as well. You really feel for what is happening and for the lives of the members of this family. This is a beautiful film that will stay with you. As the poster says, it's a journey with a lot of heart. My rating: 7.5 Fabio: 7 Total: 14.5
Hard Choices...
hprockstar7 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This story follows a Middle-Eastern woman as she struggles living in an military-occupied West Bank. When she receives notice that she has been chosen in a lottery for a U.S. Green Card, she has to make the decision whether or not to uproot herself and her son for greener pastures. After making the decision to go, leaving her mother and brother behind, she realizes that life in Amreeka (America) is not all that she had dreamed it would be. Facing prejudice everywhere she turns, she makes other hard choices in trying to support her family...the son she brought to America with her and the relatives that she is staying with in the Midwest who are facing prejudice and struggling to make ends meet. In the end, this film reminds the viewer of the importance of family and the sacrifices we make for those we love.
An Unforgettable Personage
p_radulescu13 August 2011
"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).
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).
White Castle + Arabs= the American Dream. Huh? Despite the overused of product placement, It's still a good movie.
ironhorse_iv25 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Directed and written by Cherien Dabis, the movie tells the story of a proud Palestinian Christian immigrant single mother, Muna Farah (Nisreen Faour) and her teenage son, Fadi Farah (Melkar Muallem) in small town Indiana, facing the trials and tribulations of moving to another country. Without spoiling the movie, too much, I have to say, I love how well-shot and well-written, the film is. However, I just wish, the movie would show us, more on how they were able to survive. After all, wasn't the couple that they were staying at, were behind on their mortgage and on risk, of losing their home? I really doubt, the income of working at White Castle would save this family, from being homeless, but somehow, this movie shows that magic of White Castle can solves all the economic and world problems. No really, this is how this movie plays White Castle as a savior. I never knew, how good working at White Castle was. Not only, does, working at White Castle help you, reconnect with your son, but it also helps, reconnect other family member. It's seem like the magic of White Castle can do anything. Yes, I know, most people would probably say, this movie is a bit distracting, due to how much, they talk about how awesome, it is, to work at there, and how much, the film's overused of that product placement. However, I still get what this movie message was trying to say, with its dramatic story. So the whole White Castle brand integration wasn't too off-putting, because they kinda intergrade the product placement into the film, somewhat adequate. I like the fact that Muna Farah had to work there, after finding out, that all of her money has been confiscates, during her entrance into the country. I also love the fact, that White Castle isn't pull as a one-off joke. No, she honestly grow to love, working there. It kinda make sense, once you see the movie. I also have to say, Nisreen Faour is a fine actress and she makes this movie, so entertaining, not only with her great use of humor, but her emotional range. You really do believe, that she's willing to do anything to help her child, have success in America. I can somewhat related her drive. After all, there is nothing wrong, with working at a job like that, as long, as you're working for success. So, I was rooting for her. The only thing, I can say, that was bad about her character, is that she speaks, in Broken English. Don't get me wrong, the fact that she doesn't understand, English, that well, is part, of this movie's charm. I love, the jokes about her, misunderstanding English slangs like 'Grill', or not knowing initials like 'F.O.B" (Fresh off the Boat); however, I wish the movie had subtitles for the scenes, where they were speaking English to each other. It was really hard to hear, what they were saying to each other, due to the accent. Still, I have to give them, some credit for having English subtitles, whenever, the characters were speaking Arabic. That was very useful. I also like how the movie had a great subplot about American prejudice toward Arabs, coming out of the events of 9/11 and the beginnings of the 2003's Iraq War. It was very good social commentary. However, it does kinda fell flat at parts. A good example is Fadi's sub-plot with the one-dimensional bullies. We never get to see that story-arch honestly finish. Nor was it, explain, very well. Honestly, why didn't the bullies press charges against Fadi, after getting into a fight with them and slicing their tires? You would think, they had a good case. Another issues that wasn't explain well, is how Muna's brother in law's medical practice was save. How did Nabeel (Yussuf Abu-Warda) get his patient, back? The movie is full of subplots that go nowhere, like Muma's co-worker, Matt (Brodie Sanderson) dropping out of school, and trying to get his GED. Did he get it? We will never know. Then, there is the jokes that go nowhere like Muna trying to sell, weight-pills. The movie makes a lot of jokes about her weight, but we never get to see her, work at it, at all. Despite those flaws. This movie was still heart-warming enough to overlook them. I also love, how the movie doesn't seem like an independent movie. You would think, a big studio finance this. I love how the film was able to be shot on location in Ramallah, with its limited low-budget. It helps make the film, seem realistic, because you really do see, how life in the West Bank is. It's a very tense place to live, indeed. Even the Winnipeg sites as the film's Post-9/11 suburban Chicago settlings kinda work. It's funny to hear the story, how locals mistake the White Castle set, as a real restaurant, and try to order things from there. In the end, I have to say, the filmmakers really use their limited budget, very wisely. I have to say, they must had done, a great job, to get National Geographic Society to buy all theatrical and home entertainment rights to Amreeka after its debut at Sundance. It's rarely for National Geo to pick a movie up, that isn't a documentary. So, mad props to Amreeka! Overall: While, it's not the best movie out there. It's a guilty pleasure of mine. A beautiful and heart-warming movie, worth checking out. I recommended it.
An overly simplistic approach
howard.schumann9 November 2009
Amreeka (the Arabic word for America) is a humorous and warm-hearted first feature from Cherien Dabis that follows a Palestinian woman, Muna (Nisreen Faour) and her sixteen-year-old son, Fadi (Melkar Muallem) from the checkpoints of the West Bank to the checkmates of racial animosity in a small town in Illinois near Chicago. Set in 2003 at the start of the Iraq War, Muna leaves Bethlehem because she desires a better life for her son and can no longer put up with overbearing Israeli police, the harangues of her elderly mother, and reminders of her philandering ex-husband. The opening sequence in which Muna is ecstatic about receiving her Green Card in the mail and says tearful goodbyes to her family on her way to America joyously captures the closeness of family and their caring for each other in a lighthearted manner.
Unfortunately in the rest of the film things do not go as well for the young family. They have to deal with numerous incidents of overt and covert racism including bullying at school as they try to adjust to a new home and a new country. Things start off badly when Muna and Fadi are harassed for three hours at the airport by Israeli customs and a tin box filled with cookies and all of their savings are handed over by Fadi to customs officials. Fadi does not say anything to his mother about this (a most unlikely circumstance) and the loss is only discovered after the two arrive at the home of relatives in Illinois. From there, things go steadily south. Muna tries to get a job in her profession in a bank but is rejected by employers who look at all Arabs as potential terrorists.
Ending up working at a burger joint, Muna conceals her employment from her relatives, pretending to work at a bank close to the restaurant, but her shame is apparent. Meanwhile Fadi is tormented by school bullies who call him Osama and her relatives begin to bicker over their increased expenses at the time when the family breadwinner, a physician (Yussef Abu Warda), is losing clients because of his Arab appearance. While people need to be reminded of the hurt of racism and the Arabs contribution to the world, Amreeka offers one contrived subplot after another in which Americans are caricatures of either hate-filled racists or Christ-like saviors like Mr. Novatski (Joseph Ziegler), Fadi's principal (who happens to be Jewish).
What could have been an excellent opportunity to explore the problems of assimilation or the treatment of minorities instead becomes a litany of clichés. There is no mention of 9-11, issues involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or the problem of bullying in schools, and the possibility of involving teachers, school officials, or even the neighborhood church in helping the immigrant family to cope are not examined. While Amreeka has moments of charm and likability and the performances are excellent, the exercise quickly becomes a big screen version of "As the World Turns", doomed by an overly simplistic approach in which victimization substitutes for cooperation in finding solutions.
Unfortunately in the rest of the film things do not go as well for the young family. They have to deal with numerous incidents of overt and covert racism including bullying at school as they try to adjust to a new home and a new country. Things start off badly when Muna and Fadi are harassed for three hours at the airport by Israeli customs and a tin box filled with cookies and all of their savings are handed over by Fadi to customs officials. Fadi does not say anything to his mother about this (a most unlikely circumstance) and the loss is only discovered after the two arrive at the home of relatives in Illinois. From there, things go steadily south. Muna tries to get a job in her profession in a bank but is rejected by employers who look at all Arabs as potential terrorists.
Ending up working at a burger joint, Muna conceals her employment from her relatives, pretending to work at a bank close to the restaurant, but her shame is apparent. Meanwhile Fadi is tormented by school bullies who call him Osama and her relatives begin to bicker over their increased expenses at the time when the family breadwinner, a physician (Yussef Abu Warda), is losing clients because of his Arab appearance. While people need to be reminded of the hurt of racism and the Arabs contribution to the world, Amreeka offers one contrived subplot after another in which Americans are caricatures of either hate-filled racists or Christ-like saviors like Mr. Novatski (Joseph Ziegler), Fadi's principal (who happens to be Jewish).
What could have been an excellent opportunity to explore the problems of assimilation or the treatment of minorities instead becomes a litany of clichés. There is no mention of 9-11, issues involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or the problem of bullying in schools, and the possibility of involving teachers, school officials, or even the neighborhood church in helping the immigrant family to cope are not examined. While Amreeka has moments of charm and likability and the performances are excellent, the exercise quickly becomes a big screen version of "As the World Turns", doomed by an overly simplistic approach in which victimization substitutes for cooperation in finding solutions.
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cekadah6 April 2014
And if you don't know what my title is in reference to then you haven't seen this movie. "when you are in this house you are in Palestine", that's another important statement in this movie!
This is actually a very well acted and scripted film! It chronicles the immigration of a single Palestinian mother and son to Illinois and the culture clash they encounter.
Unfortunately the plot is depressingly familiar and the outcome predictable. The mother is honest but wants to save face with her family that is allowing her & son to live with them by lying about her job. Both son & mother face rejection at school and the workplace, but they are resolute in overcoming the odds against them.
So there you have it ... I encourage people who enjoy good cinema to watch this as it is a well crafted movie but I'm afraid a bit forgettable.
This is actually a very well acted and scripted film! It chronicles the immigration of a single Palestinian mother and son to Illinois and the culture clash they encounter.
Unfortunately the plot is depressingly familiar and the outcome predictable. The mother is honest but wants to save face with her family that is allowing her & son to live with them by lying about her job. Both son & mother face rejection at school and the workplace, but they are resolute in overcoming the odds against them.
So there you have it ... I encourage people who enjoy good cinema to watch this as it is a well crafted movie but I'm afraid a bit forgettable.
Amreeka the beautiful.
superlo4 July 2010
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.
Huzzah!
chicagocamelgirl7 October 2009
Knowing my deep interest in the subject of Palestine, a friend tipped me off to this movie. "Have you seen the trailer yet?" she asked. "It looks hilarious and beautiful, and poignant".
She wasn't wrong.
Over the last ten or twelve years, I have been gleaning as much information and experience as I can about the Palestine/Israel question. I found this film to be an excellent, genuine portrayal of not only life in occupied Palestine, but also of what life is like for those who choose to emigrate. It isn't a high-budget, high-production value film, but it is sensitively written, superbly acted, and the characters stay with you long after you leave the theater.
Not only that, but it is so heartening to be able to see a movie about Arabs that portrays them simply as people instead of terrorists, and is honest about the kind of racism they face in this country on a regular basis. Lets see more of these kinds of films, please! Mabrook to all those who worked on this gorgeous film!
She wasn't wrong.
Over the last ten or twelve years, I have been gleaning as much information and experience as I can about the Palestine/Israel question. I found this film to be an excellent, genuine portrayal of not only life in occupied Palestine, but also of what life is like for those who choose to emigrate. It isn't a high-budget, high-production value film, but it is sensitively written, superbly acted, and the characters stay with you long after you leave the theater.
Not only that, but it is so heartening to be able to see a movie about Arabs that portrays them simply as people instead of terrorists, and is honest about the kind of racism they face in this country on a regular basis. Lets see more of these kinds of films, please! Mabrook to all those who worked on this gorgeous film!
Home Is Where The Heart Is (no matter where you are)
druid333-211 October 2009
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
Use of stereotypes undermine heart-felt Palestinian immigrant saga
Turfseer14 February 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Muna Farah lives with her teenage son, Fadi, in Bethlehem on the West Bank. Muna is still sad about being dumped by her husband who left her for a younger, more attractive woman but has managed to stay afloat working at a local bank for the past ten years. When Muna receives notification that her green card application has been approved, she and Fadi pack their bags and move to a suburban town in Illinois where her sister Raghda and her physician husband Nabeel, live.
Before moving in with her sister and brother-in-law (along with their two children), there's a contrived scene where Muna loses all the family savings ($2500) at the airport after customs agents confiscate a tin box of cookies. It seems that Muna had placed the money in the box and wasn't paying attention when the cookies were confiscated (you would think that of all the items they were asked to take out of their bags, the box that contained the money would have been subject to the greatest scrutiny on Muna's part). We learn later that Fadi "tried" to tell his mother that the custom agents had taken the cookies, but for some reason, she "wasn't listening".
Amreeka takes place just at the time the United States has invaded Iraq and anti-Arabic sentiment is high throughout the country. Raghda and Nabeel are directly affected after receiving a threatening letter in their mailbox. Meanwhile, Muna is bent on earning her keep so she tries to find a job. Despite her work experience back home, she can't find a job with a decent salary so she ends up working at White Castle. Whenever her sister drops her off for work, she enters an office building next to the White Castle, in an effort to hide the fact that the best job she was able to get was at a fast food restaurant.
Muna makes sure Fadi is enrolled in the local high school and is in the same class as his cousin, Raghda's daughter, who is an outspoken critic of the Israeli occupation. Eventually, some bullies at the school begin taunting Fadi, calling him "Osama" and telling him that he should go back home.
Muna tries to earn extra money by becoming an MLM distributor of herbal products. Eventually, she qualifies for a credit card and uses it to help her brother-in-law, who's behind on his mortgage payments since he's lost numerous patients due to anti-Arab prejudice.
The second act climax occurs when some of the bullies who had been harassing Fadi, run into Muna while she's working at the White Castle. After exchanging words, one of the bullies spills a drink on the floor and when Muna chases them out, she slips on the wet floor and hurts her back. Nabeel finds her laid out on the floor of the restaurant but determines that she only has a muscle spasm and needs an anti-inflammatory. Fadi decides to take things into his own hands that night and goes to the house of the bully who taunted his mother and gets into a fight with him. Fadi is arrested and Muna sneaks out of the house to go down to the police station to try and win her son's release. She ends up calling the school principal, a Jewish man who she befriended earlier. While the charges have been dropped, the police say that they still have to hold Fadi with the implication that he's being investigated for being a possible terrorist. The police seem extremely insistent but in an implausible scene, the principal manages to convince the police (on the strength of his reputation in the community) to release the boy.
Amreeka ends on a positive note as the family has a nice meal (joined by Muna's friend, the helpful principal) at a Middle Eastern restaurant.
Amreeka is a mildly entertaining, lightweight view of new immigrants coming to America. Writer/Director Cherien Dabis populates the supporting cast with one-dimensional caricatures. The bad guys are the bigoted high school students (who we never get to know as real people). As a counterbalance, there are three characters with 'hearts of gold' who support Muna in her struggle to get ahead in the new country: the aforementioned school principal of Jewish background, the woman who works in the office next door to the White Castle who covers for Muna as she attempts to hide the true nature of her job from her family and the young purple-haired White Castle worker who befriends Muna and sticks up for her when the bullies harass her at work.
Amreeka is full of political pronouncements favoring the Palestinian cause. Nabeel correctly predicts that the Iraqi invasion by the Americans will destabilize the country but is disturbingly silent concerning the thousands murdered by Sadaam during his reign of terror. Muna indicates that she's not Muslim but is she a Palestinian Christian or simply a secular Arab? There is a passing remark that the family was subject to prejudice in the West Bank too, but that issue is never developed.
In a simplistic way, Amreeka suggests that there's both good and bad in America but the characters that are served up to illustrate that point, lack depth. While some of the interactions between Muna and the various people she befriends are interesting, the central plot device, which involves bigoted school bullies, is one big cliché.
It is refreshing to have a picture detailing one aspect of the Palestinian immigrant experience—there haven't been that many films that come to the United States which focus on the ordinary lives of Palestinian people. And the positive message embodied by Muna's talk with her son at the end of the film where she urges him to push forward in life despite obstacles is to be commended. Amreeka does hold your interest throughout but too many of its characters are rooted in caricature, failing to provide enough fully drawn portraits of real people.
Before moving in with her sister and brother-in-law (along with their two children), there's a contrived scene where Muna loses all the family savings ($2500) at the airport after customs agents confiscate a tin box of cookies. It seems that Muna had placed the money in the box and wasn't paying attention when the cookies were confiscated (you would think that of all the items they were asked to take out of their bags, the box that contained the money would have been subject to the greatest scrutiny on Muna's part). We learn later that Fadi "tried" to tell his mother that the custom agents had taken the cookies, but for some reason, she "wasn't listening".
Amreeka takes place just at the time the United States has invaded Iraq and anti-Arabic sentiment is high throughout the country. Raghda and Nabeel are directly affected after receiving a threatening letter in their mailbox. Meanwhile, Muna is bent on earning her keep so she tries to find a job. Despite her work experience back home, she can't find a job with a decent salary so she ends up working at White Castle. Whenever her sister drops her off for work, she enters an office building next to the White Castle, in an effort to hide the fact that the best job she was able to get was at a fast food restaurant.
Muna makes sure Fadi is enrolled in the local high school and is in the same class as his cousin, Raghda's daughter, who is an outspoken critic of the Israeli occupation. Eventually, some bullies at the school begin taunting Fadi, calling him "Osama" and telling him that he should go back home.
Muna tries to earn extra money by becoming an MLM distributor of herbal products. Eventually, she qualifies for a credit card and uses it to help her brother-in-law, who's behind on his mortgage payments since he's lost numerous patients due to anti-Arab prejudice.
The second act climax occurs when some of the bullies who had been harassing Fadi, run into Muna while she's working at the White Castle. After exchanging words, one of the bullies spills a drink on the floor and when Muna chases them out, she slips on the wet floor and hurts her back. Nabeel finds her laid out on the floor of the restaurant but determines that she only has a muscle spasm and needs an anti-inflammatory. Fadi decides to take things into his own hands that night and goes to the house of the bully who taunted his mother and gets into a fight with him. Fadi is arrested and Muna sneaks out of the house to go down to the police station to try and win her son's release. She ends up calling the school principal, a Jewish man who she befriended earlier. While the charges have been dropped, the police say that they still have to hold Fadi with the implication that he's being investigated for being a possible terrorist. The police seem extremely insistent but in an implausible scene, the principal manages to convince the police (on the strength of his reputation in the community) to release the boy.
Amreeka ends on a positive note as the family has a nice meal (joined by Muna's friend, the helpful principal) at a Middle Eastern restaurant.
Amreeka is a mildly entertaining, lightweight view of new immigrants coming to America. Writer/Director Cherien Dabis populates the supporting cast with one-dimensional caricatures. The bad guys are the bigoted high school students (who we never get to know as real people). As a counterbalance, there are three characters with 'hearts of gold' who support Muna in her struggle to get ahead in the new country: the aforementioned school principal of Jewish background, the woman who works in the office next door to the White Castle who covers for Muna as she attempts to hide the true nature of her job from her family and the young purple-haired White Castle worker who befriends Muna and sticks up for her when the bullies harass her at work.
Amreeka is full of political pronouncements favoring the Palestinian cause. Nabeel correctly predicts that the Iraqi invasion by the Americans will destabilize the country but is disturbingly silent concerning the thousands murdered by Sadaam during his reign of terror. Muna indicates that she's not Muslim but is she a Palestinian Christian or simply a secular Arab? There is a passing remark that the family was subject to prejudice in the West Bank too, but that issue is never developed.
In a simplistic way, Amreeka suggests that there's both good and bad in America but the characters that are served up to illustrate that point, lack depth. While some of the interactions between Muna and the various people she befriends are interesting, the central plot device, which involves bigoted school bullies, is one big cliché.
It is refreshing to have a picture detailing one aspect of the Palestinian immigrant experience—there haven't been that many films that come to the United States which focus on the ordinary lives of Palestinian people. And the positive message embodied by Muna's talk with her son at the end of the film where she urges him to push forward in life despite obstacles is to be commended. Amreeka does hold your interest throughout but too many of its characters are rooted in caricature, failing to provide enough fully drawn portraits of real people.
Compassionate Film About Palestinian Immigrants
johnstonjames23 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I can see from some of the reviews that some people didn't like this heart warming little film. that seems awfully hard. what's not to like? sure it's simplistic, but so many things about the heart and feelings are. besides, it's very straight forward and makes some very good points.
the film benefits greatly from a excellent and touching performance by actress Nisreem Faour as the main protagonist Muna, who immigrates from Palestine to Illinois here in Amreeka. the performance is based all on heart and the feeling functions rather than anything cerebral which is why it is so moving and special when so many actors over think their roles to the point of rigid contrivance. Faour's performance just flows naturally,smoothly,and believably without any hint of falseness.
politically there is nothing controversial about this film really. unless maybe you're Zionist extremist or someone with a psycho racist agenda. i think people on both sides are getting a little tired of the West Bank being occupied to such an extent and of having the Palestinian people vilified all the time. this soft peddling little film might just be the ticket to get people to lighten up. if they can lighten up enough to watch it.
the film benefits greatly from a excellent and touching performance by actress Nisreem Faour as the main protagonist Muna, who immigrates from Palestine to Illinois here in Amreeka. the performance is based all on heart and the feeling functions rather than anything cerebral which is why it is so moving and special when so many actors over think their roles to the point of rigid contrivance. Faour's performance just flows naturally,smoothly,and believably without any hint of falseness.
politically there is nothing controversial about this film really. unless maybe you're Zionist extremist or someone with a psycho racist agenda. i think people on both sides are getting a little tired of the West Bank being occupied to such an extent and of having the Palestinian people vilified all the time. this soft peddling little film might just be the ticket to get people to lighten up. if they can lighten up enough to watch it.
Quite Impressive
Zoooma12 June 2014
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
7.9 / 10 stars
--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener
I loved Nisreen Faour's performance.
UNOhwen30 June 2012
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.
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.
The country is big enough
fablesofthereconstru-13 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Contrary to popular belief among the narrow-minded, not all Arabs are Muslims. Case and point: only one of the two female office workers, employees at a Palestinian bank, have their heads covered, in the opening scene of "Ameerka", a relevant film about the emigrants that makes some of us leery, still, eight years and counting after that fateful day in September. Even if Muna(Nisreem Faour) was a Muslim, and did wear a headscarf in compliance with Islamic law, would it make this divorced mother of one any less likable? Of course not. Not all Muslims are terrorists, contrary to popular belief. By default, "Ameerka" is a political movie, but it doesn't have to be one; it's the people that Muna and her son Fadi(Melkar Maleem) meet stateside, who make their presence a political matter. Despite having no outlying signifiers to correspond with their ethnicity, as if being Arab itself is supposed to denote one's religious affiliation in the first place, people prefigure their disposition, and treat them accordingly, with suspicion, with disregard.
At the outset of "Ameerka", the small Palestinian family is made instantly relatable in a sequence that establishes how close-knit Mni and Fadi are, which completely transcends their "otherness". When the mother asks her son about his homework, having just picked the boy up from his private school, they could be American, but this parental concern is transformed by context and becomes a Palestinian scene, as their intimacy is interrupted by the car's arrival at a checkpoint, ending any semblance of normality, in which the Israeli soldier goes about his vehicle inspection. Once home, a house they share with the family matriarch, Muna quietly asks Fadi to get the tomatoes from the car, reining her temper in while Fadi's grandmother complains about her daughter's forgetfulness. Those tomatoes came from the produce market, a hole in the wall where Muna, recently divorced, had encountered her ex-husband's new wife, who is both younger and skinnier, and arguably, prettier, than her. When Muna boards the plane to America with her son, she's carrying around a broken heart, not a bomb.
The Farahs go to Illinois. That's where Muna's sister Raghda(Hiam Abbass) and her family lives. It's also where Fadi got accepted to an expensive school. Blissfully unaware of her own Americanization, Raghda possesses an American's arrogance, talking about Palestine as if she still knew her. Muna knows. She knows it's better to be a foreigner than a prisoner. Muna corrects her older sister, who feels Palestinian because she shops at a Palestinian grocers, and can speak in her own native language without the cold stares of American housewives that greeted them at the supermarket. With enough English to get by, Muna goes job-hunting, and ends up serving burgers at White Castle, a last resort to unemployment, after being turned away by a host of prejudicial bank managers. The job embarrasses Muna, but she's a go-getter, so there's definitely a place for her in this country. When Muna's principal, a Polish-Jew(remember: Muna is Palestinian), drives her back to work(after being called in for a conference over Fadi's fisticuffs with his tormentor), he stays for lunch, after returning the handbag she left behind in his car. As he eats the famous White Castle fare, she mops, but then he invites her to sit with him(remember: the principal is Jewish), because she's entitled to be there, like she and Fadi are entitled to be in America. Muna has the right to dream of a better life. Living paycheck to paycheck is not good enough for her. She sells a weight-loss drink, and later in "Ameerka", she slips on the liquid, the handiwork of Fadi's tormentor, who knocks an open can off the White Castle counter. Flat on her back, that's where Muna might end up in this country, but she has a right to fail, and she has a right to get up, and try again.
At the outset of "Ameerka", the small Palestinian family is made instantly relatable in a sequence that establishes how close-knit Mni and Fadi are, which completely transcends their "otherness". When the mother asks her son about his homework, having just picked the boy up from his private school, they could be American, but this parental concern is transformed by context and becomes a Palestinian scene, as their intimacy is interrupted by the car's arrival at a checkpoint, ending any semblance of normality, in which the Israeli soldier goes about his vehicle inspection. Once home, a house they share with the family matriarch, Muna quietly asks Fadi to get the tomatoes from the car, reining her temper in while Fadi's grandmother complains about her daughter's forgetfulness. Those tomatoes came from the produce market, a hole in the wall where Muna, recently divorced, had encountered her ex-husband's new wife, who is both younger and skinnier, and arguably, prettier, than her. When Muna boards the plane to America with her son, she's carrying around a broken heart, not a bomb.
The Farahs go to Illinois. That's where Muna's sister Raghda(Hiam Abbass) and her family lives. It's also where Fadi got accepted to an expensive school. Blissfully unaware of her own Americanization, Raghda possesses an American's arrogance, talking about Palestine as if she still knew her. Muna knows. She knows it's better to be a foreigner than a prisoner. Muna corrects her older sister, who feels Palestinian because she shops at a Palestinian grocers, and can speak in her own native language without the cold stares of American housewives that greeted them at the supermarket. With enough English to get by, Muna goes job-hunting, and ends up serving burgers at White Castle, a last resort to unemployment, after being turned away by a host of prejudicial bank managers. The job embarrasses Muna, but she's a go-getter, so there's definitely a place for her in this country. When Muna's principal, a Polish-Jew(remember: Muna is Palestinian), drives her back to work(after being called in for a conference over Fadi's fisticuffs with his tormentor), he stays for lunch, after returning the handbag she left behind in his car. As he eats the famous White Castle fare, she mops, but then he invites her to sit with him(remember: the principal is Jewish), because she's entitled to be there, like she and Fadi are entitled to be in America. Muna has the right to dream of a better life. Living paycheck to paycheck is not good enough for her. She sells a weight-loss drink, and later in "Ameerka", she slips on the liquid, the handiwork of Fadi's tormentor, who knocks an open can off the White Castle counter. Flat on her back, that's where Muna might end up in this country, but she has a right to fail, and she has a right to get up, and try again.
Plodding and episodic indy about Palenstine immigrants kept afloat by magnificent performance
herbqedi12 April 2010
Amreeka chronicles the trials and tribulations of the lead character and her son as they leave a dissatisfying and violent life in Palestine for a dissatisfying and violent life in the Chicago area of the US. The performances of these two leads define the movie for me. Ms. Faour, as the mother, gives depth to her character way beyond the script, and conveys the proper resilience in the face of all possible indignities that only actors of true star quality can convey. On the other extreme, the actor playing the son is whiny and completely unconvincing when supposedly acting out of anger or supposedly longing to fit in. He is simply inept. With the exception of the poor performance by the class bully, the rest of the acting both by Palestinians and Americans is fairly good, especially given the rambling and episodic script that is chock full of clichés.
Another huge impediment to enjoyment for me was the fact that the English subtitles in many scenes were nearly impossible to read. It seems to me that when letter-boxing first caught on, the subtitles on movies requiring them would appear in the letter-boxed portion of the screen making them highly visible. Then after awhile, that practice ceased altogether and I remember some highbrow critic saying that it was a practice that should be discontinued and shortly thereafter was - but I cannot recall why. In any event, some movies still manage to make the subtitles legible. This is NOT one of them.
Altogether, if you wish to see a magnificent lead actor performance by a very atypical leading lady, there are worse ways to spend 100 minutes. FOr most of us, there are also better ways.
Another huge impediment to enjoyment for me was the fact that the English subtitles in many scenes were nearly impossible to read. It seems to me that when letter-boxing first caught on, the subtitles on movies requiring them would appear in the letter-boxed portion of the screen making them highly visible. Then after awhile, that practice ceased altogether and I remember some highbrow critic saying that it was a practice that should be discontinued and shortly thereafter was - but I cannot recall why. In any event, some movies still manage to make the subtitles legible. This is NOT one of them.
Altogether, if you wish to see a magnificent lead actor performance by a very atypical leading lady, there are worse ways to spend 100 minutes. FOr most of us, there are also better ways.
A Close-Up of the Racism & Sexism Reality Anywhere in the World!
karterskreations24 March 2011
This is a great film about immigrating to North America as a divorced mother. The interactions between Mona (the mother) and Fadi (the son) are memorable; whether it be at the border at the occupied territories, in the US regarding his rebelliousness in school or confronting the attitude of US rural society.
I just viewed this film and disagree that it is a stereotype. Maybe the reviewers have not taken a good look at "real life" in North America as a newly arrived immigrant.
In this case, they are from occupied Palestine and immigrate exactly when the Bush administration declares war on Iraq. The town shuns them. No one is Iraqi, Palestine is occupied and war is on the way; so the son convinces her to leave when she receives unexpected news.
A twist and tease every step of the way and the end is most unexpected!
I just viewed this film and disagree that it is a stereotype. Maybe the reviewers have not taken a good look at "real life" in North America as a newly arrived immigrant.
In this case, they are from occupied Palestine and immigrate exactly when the Bush administration declares war on Iraq. The town shuns them. No one is Iraqi, Palestine is occupied and war is on the way; so the son convinces her to leave when she receives unexpected news.
A twist and tease every step of the way and the end is most unexpected!
Well made drama about a single mother and her son ...
dwpollar4 January 2012
1st watched 1/1/2012 – 8 out of 10 (Dir-Cherien Dabis): Well made drama about a single mother and her son moving from Bethlehem in Palestine to the US, and encounter many different obstacles upon their arrival. This movie is what you'd call a slice-of-life film but focused on a situation that isn't shown much in the movies. They decide to move right in the middle of the Iraq conflict to help the son with his schooling possibilities while suspicions are high against people from their area. This is seen from the perspective of non-Muslim middle eastern folk who just want to live their lives like everyone else. The son first has to encounter being a teen at a Midwest high school where he gets into fights and then gets arrested defending his mother – so things aren't so kind for him in his new surroundings. Nisreen Faour is wonderful as the mother and the rest of the cast is spot on. The experience is not all gloom-and-doom as the mother meets a sympathetic Polish Jew who is the principal of her son's school as well as a friendly teen she works with at the local White Castle. The only real downside to the movie is that it ends too soon. You get attached to these characters and want to see more, but it ends before any major conclusions – other than the fact that life will go on and things are looking up. Don't miss this gem of a movie that deserves a sequel or maybe a reality series on a cable channel?? – Anything to bring back these characters so will can follow them to see how things turn out in the end.
Welcome to 'White Castle'.
punishmentpark21 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Lucky me, seeing Alia Shawkat twice in a row, unexpectedly, on a Saturday film night. This time she plays an American cousin to a Palestinian boy who comes to America with his mother. It starts out in Palestine (West Bank) though, and it's really interesting to get a sense of that place through a piece of film drama (other than the news or a documentary).
Main character Muna Farah is played very well by Nisreen Faour, as her struggles with her new life really come across. Director Cherien Dabis said it like this, elsewhere on the net: 'had a sweetness about her [...] a kindness and a childlike sense of wonder. There was something about her that was so youthful, and yet, I could still see in her eyes the depth of sadness that her life experience had given her.' That's what I was trying to say!
The story is more like a series of incidents, the main lines being Muna trying to find work and her son Fadi trying to regain his identity (though there is plenty beyond that, like how the family they stay with is coping). There is the school principal who befriends Muna, and there is the hostile schoolboy who opposes Fadi - and from there on it goes... and quite suddenly ends - leaving me to think this would have made great material for at least a miniseries.
On the whole it's a very sympathetic little film - low key and low budget - truly with its heart in the right place.
Main character Muna Farah is played very well by Nisreen Faour, as her struggles with her new life really come across. Director Cherien Dabis said it like this, elsewhere on the net: 'had a sweetness about her [...] a kindness and a childlike sense of wonder. There was something about her that was so youthful, and yet, I could still see in her eyes the depth of sadness that her life experience had given her.' That's what I was trying to say!
The story is more like a series of incidents, the main lines being Muna trying to find work and her son Fadi trying to regain his identity (though there is plenty beyond that, like how the family they stay with is coping). There is the school principal who befriends Muna, and there is the hostile schoolboy who opposes Fadi - and from there on it goes... and quite suddenly ends - leaving me to think this would have made great material for at least a miniseries.
On the whole it's a very sympathetic little film - low key and low budget - truly with its heart in the right place.
infantile, at its best.
ngmufleh24 January 2010
this movie is wonderful - if you're a big fan of endless nauseating, predictable, clichéd stereotypes.
i don't understand why every independent film to come out of this genre (if you can call it that) has to utilize the same pathetic freshman year film school style.
i'm really bored of making excuses for such films. i'm sick of having to sit through horrible scripts, sub par plots and hand-held crappy cinematography. what makes it even more painful to sit through is the horrible acting.
if after this review you still feel the urge to watch amreeka, you can get the gist of it from the trailer. beyond that, you will feel a waste of time and effort.
it is infantile, at its best.
i don't understand why every independent film to come out of this genre (if you can call it that) has to utilize the same pathetic freshman year film school style.
i'm really bored of making excuses for such films. i'm sick of having to sit through horrible scripts, sub par plots and hand-held crappy cinematography. what makes it even more painful to sit through is the horrible acting.
if after this review you still feel the urge to watch amreeka, you can get the gist of it from the trailer. beyond that, you will feel a waste of time and effort.
it is infantile, at its best.
Yell Faour for her "Amreeka" the beautiful performance
meeza13 March 2010
I am going to immigrate this film review into the unchartered waters of Punsylvania! OK, so I overdo the pun thang in my movie reviews. But it is America, a land of freedom & expression! So I will do the same in my review of the independent film "Amreeka". Are you still with me? Or did you deport yourself to another entertainment medium? OK cool, you are still here! "Amreeka" stars Nisreen Faour as Muna Farah, a Ramallah single mother who moves to America with her teenage son Fadi. They move into the Illinois home of Muna's sister Raghda Halaby and family. Muna and Fadi find the U.S. migration transition process difficult as they encounter injustices and prejudices. Muna is constantly denied jobs for banking employment, which was her occupation in Palestine. So she has no other choice but to follow the trails of Harold & Kumar and visit the White Castle; which is where she eventually finds employment. It becomes a very self-demeaning situation for Muna in not earning the Mula she originally thought she would earn as a U.S. banking associate. Muna lies to Fadi and Raghda & family by informing them that she works in a local bank. She should really work at White Lies Castle! On the other Ramallahian, Fadi is constantly bullied at school by a group of young boys because of his ethnicity. Writer-Director Cherien Dabis presents her Dabis tale on the prejudicial hardships that good-honest middle easterners face in immigrating to United States with an authenticity that does not make one feel sympathy for them but rather root for their success in the so-called "land of opportunity". Nisreen Faour's heartbreaking & courageous performance as Muna was very solid! The fabulous Faour could be saying to herself "I am rica" if she continues her acting proficiency and eventually gets offered lucrative roles. She carried the film from start to finish! Hiam Abbass' supporting performance as sister Raghda was also worth noting and was not a "rag doll" effort. The Abbass also dove nicely into a deep supporting performance in 2008's "The Visitor". "Amreeka" does sometimes almost borders itself on plot boredom, but that never materializes primarily due to Nisreen Faour's superlative starring performance. Visit "Amreeka" today! **** Good
A considered view of current American sentiment regarding immigration
gradyharp23 June 2013
This very moving 2009 film written and directed by Cherien Dabis could hardly be more timely, what with the current Immigration issues in filibuster in Washington and entry into the land of hope and liberty, so long a dream for many, now a country under close surveillance of individual privacy. This is a film, simple on the surface, but one with a significant message that would benefit all to watch and digest.
The story opens in Palestine. After her husband divorces her for a slimmer woman, Muna Farah (Nisreen Faour) lives with her cranky mother and her excellent student son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) in an unnumbered house in Bethlehem. Frustrated by the constant need to cross through insulting armed checkpoints as Muna goes to her bank job and Fadi goes to school, they apply for a visa to escape the Palestinian problems with dreams of an exciting future in the promised land of small town Illinois where Muna's sister Raghda (the always brilliant Hiam Abbass) and her physician husband Nabeel (Yussuf Abu-Warda) live with their daughters. After one last treachery at customs (where Muna's life savings are confiscated) the two arrive in America. Muna is unable to find work in a bank but is secretly employed in a hamburger joint, befriended by fellow worker, high school dropout Matt (Brodie Sanderson). Fadi gets into school but is immediately ostracized by crude thoughtless students for being foreign and therefore a 'terrorist'. Meanwhile Raghda and Nabeel begin to sink into debt when Saddam Hussein is conquered in the Iraqi war and public sentiment is against all Arab speaking peoples. Fadi eventually fights back when the prejudiced students cause an accident for his mother and is arrested for assault, Muna's 'low class' employment is discovered, but when all looks grim the isolated family is befriended by a friendly Polish Jew educator Stan Novatski (Joseph Ziegler), by Matt, and by a worker in the bank that couldn't hire Muna. At least the spirit of a few can intervene to alter Muna and Farid's view of their new home.
Writer/Director Dabis based this story on her family's memories of their lives in rural America during the first Iraq War. It is a potentially painful story to experience, but Dabis fills the dialogue with enough good natured humor that the point of the film is made without excessive preaching yet enough of the realities immigrants from the Middle East face to make the film unforgettable. Excellent performances from a fine cast.
Grady Harp
The story opens in Palestine. After her husband divorces her for a slimmer woman, Muna Farah (Nisreen Faour) lives with her cranky mother and her excellent student son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) in an unnumbered house in Bethlehem. Frustrated by the constant need to cross through insulting armed checkpoints as Muna goes to her bank job and Fadi goes to school, they apply for a visa to escape the Palestinian problems with dreams of an exciting future in the promised land of small town Illinois where Muna's sister Raghda (the always brilliant Hiam Abbass) and her physician husband Nabeel (Yussuf Abu-Warda) live with their daughters. After one last treachery at customs (where Muna's life savings are confiscated) the two arrive in America. Muna is unable to find work in a bank but is secretly employed in a hamburger joint, befriended by fellow worker, high school dropout Matt (Brodie Sanderson). Fadi gets into school but is immediately ostracized by crude thoughtless students for being foreign and therefore a 'terrorist'. Meanwhile Raghda and Nabeel begin to sink into debt when Saddam Hussein is conquered in the Iraqi war and public sentiment is against all Arab speaking peoples. Fadi eventually fights back when the prejudiced students cause an accident for his mother and is arrested for assault, Muna's 'low class' employment is discovered, but when all looks grim the isolated family is befriended by a friendly Polish Jew educator Stan Novatski (Joseph Ziegler), by Matt, and by a worker in the bank that couldn't hire Muna. At least the spirit of a few can intervene to alter Muna and Farid's view of their new home.
Writer/Director Dabis based this story on her family's memories of their lives in rural America during the first Iraq War. It is a potentially painful story to experience, but Dabis fills the dialogue with enough good natured humor that the point of the film is made without excessive preaching yet enough of the realities immigrants from the Middle East face to make the film unforgettable. Excellent performances from a fine cast.
Grady Harp
Coming to America
SnoopyStyle18 October 2015
It's 2003 at the start of the Iraq war. Muna Farah and her son Fadi are Palestinian Christians living in Bethlehem under occupation. They are surprised to find the US has approved their long forgotten visa applications. They join Muna's sister Raghda Halaby and her family in Illinois suburbs. Airport security confiscates a tin of cookies which had all of their money. Muna is embarrassed and tries to hide it. Raghda's husband Nabeel is a doctor struggling to keep his patients. They get a death threat. Raghda is homesick despite being away for 15 years. Muna can't get a banking job and has to work at White Castle. Fadi joins his opinionated cousin Salma (Alia Shawkat) in school as he faces prejudice from classmates.
This is a great little indie of Fresh Off the Boat experiences. Nisreen Faour delivers a perfect mix of hope and bewilderment. She is endearing and is the center of the movie. The experiences are not necessarily new but it is always compelling no matter the era. In this one, the experiences are colored by the middle east and the second Iraq war.
This is a great little indie of Fresh Off the Boat experiences. Nisreen Faour delivers a perfect mix of hope and bewilderment. She is endearing and is the center of the movie. The experiences are not necessarily new but it is always compelling no matter the era. In this one, the experiences are colored by the middle east and the second Iraq war.
An Authentic take on the Palestinian Struggle in Amreeka
MinistryofDoom10 July 2020
America is a compelling and evocative slice of life in the world of a divorced Palestinian Christian immigrant Muna (played by Nisreen Faour) from Bethlehem and her son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) who travel to the U.S. to seek a better life, post-911 during the Iraq War and downfall of Saddam Hussein.
Muna and Fadi travel with what little belongings they possess and stay with Muna's sister, Raghda (played by Hiam Abbass), Raghda's husband Nabeel (Yussuf Abu Warda), and their three daughters, the eldest of which is Salma (played by Alia Shawkat) in Chicago suburb. The film follows the struggles and tribulations of Muna and Fada as they seek a better life, free from the troubles of the on-going Israeli Occupation while experiencing a clash of cultures that makes their assimilation difficult.
Amreeka (the Arabic pronounciation for America) is Palestinian-American Director Cherien Abbass' debut film, and heavily inspired by true life experiences of Abbass while she struggled with her identity as both an American and a Palestinian. Certain events depicted in the film are ficitionalized retellings of things she personally experienced. This fact, that the film was written directed and acted by Palestinians and based on real-life experiences of Palestinians, makes it extremely authentic and a refreshing change from the usual stereotypical "reel bad arabs" of Hollywood.
The film was beautifully shot on location in both Bethlehem and Chicago, documentary style with a handheld camera, well scripted and acted and truly a directorial debut launchpad from which Cherien Dabis' career will continue to soar. All around stellar performances by Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Melkar Muallem, and Nisreen Faour.
Muna and Fadi travel with what little belongings they possess and stay with Muna's sister, Raghda (played by Hiam Abbass), Raghda's husband Nabeel (Yussuf Abu Warda), and their three daughters, the eldest of which is Salma (played by Alia Shawkat) in Chicago suburb. The film follows the struggles and tribulations of Muna and Fada as they seek a better life, free from the troubles of the on-going Israeli Occupation while experiencing a clash of cultures that makes their assimilation difficult.
Amreeka (the Arabic pronounciation for America) is Palestinian-American Director Cherien Abbass' debut film, and heavily inspired by true life experiences of Abbass while she struggled with her identity as both an American and a Palestinian. Certain events depicted in the film are ficitionalized retellings of things she personally experienced. This fact, that the film was written directed and acted by Palestinians and based on real-life experiences of Palestinians, makes it extremely authentic and a refreshing change from the usual stereotypical "reel bad arabs" of Hollywood.
The film was beautifully shot on location in both Bethlehem and Chicago, documentary style with a handheld camera, well scripted and acted and truly a directorial debut launchpad from which Cherien Dabis' career will continue to soar. All around stellar performances by Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Melkar Muallem, and Nisreen Faour.
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