The symbolism in this cinematic metaphor on conflicts in the Middle East becomes so overbearing that it's hard to care about the characters or their plight.
The symbolism in this cinematic metaphor on conflicts in the Middle East becomes so overbearing that it's hard to care about the characters or their plight.
A Jewish-American woman still reeling from her breakup with her Spanish-Israeli fiancée hits the road with a middle-aged Israeli woman, who is looking to collect the 30,000-dollar debt owed to her by her husband's former business partner, and a Palestinian woman, who claims to know the elusive moneyman's whereabouts, in this road-trip drama from Kippur director Amos Gitai. In her efforts to escape the painful memory of her breakup with former fiancée Julio (Aki Avni), Rebecca (Natalie Portman)
agrees to accompany Hanna (Hanna Laslo) on her arduous journey through Israel to the Free Zone -- a tax- and customs-free region where those from countries at war with one another amiably buy and sell cars -- in hopes of collecting a large debt owed to her by her ailing husband's business partner known only as "The American." When Hanna and Rebecca finally arrive in the Free Zone only to discover that Hanna's contact and money have mysteriously gone missing, a Palestinian woman named Leila (Hiam Abbass) agrees to lead the skeptical Hanna to both "The American" and Hanna's rightly due cash. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
There's an art to ambiguity -- there really is... Left to their own devices, viewers will fill in the blanks, but when the movie starts filling them in itself, you have to wonder about the mismatch.
While Portman does outshine everyone and everything on screen and though she certainly gets credit for making the résumé sacrifice in the spirit of embracing her heritage, Free Zone does nothing for her in return
Without much effort you can imagine the corkboard littered with index cards mapping out the political clashes this cast is asked to act out in their robotic interactions.
Free Zone is a powerful film -- definitely not what you'd expect from Natalie Portman. Thought provoking and visually pleasing, this is one you will want to track down.
"Free Zone" starts with American tourist Rebecca(Natalie Portman) hysterically crying in the backseat of a taxi in Jerusalem. The driver, Hanna(Hanna Laslo), wants to know where she wants to go because she has an appointment in Jordan. Rebecca figures that is as good as anyplace... Director Amos Gitai takes a page
out of Abbas Kiarostami's book by setting almost all of "Free Zone" in a taxi(accompanied by some distracting flashbacks. Well, as long as it gets Carmen Maura in the film...) as it travels through Israel and Jordan. Gitai has even less to say than his Iranian counterpart and the movie does not get anywhere interesting until the end. It is a shame because the movie wastes a valuable opportunity to view the Middle East conflict in microcosm.(It is rather obvious that Rebecca is a representative for all Americans who can leave the region any time they want.) But there are some good thoughts on identity, here.
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