Omar

Critics Consensus

Twisty and riveting, Omar is a well-directed crime drama with uncommon depth.

90%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 86

84%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 5,114

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Movie Info

A tense, gripping thriller about betrayal, suspected and real, in the Occupied Territories. Omar (Adam Bakri) is a Palestinian baker who routinely climbs over the separation wall to meet up with his girl Nadja (Leem Lubany). By night, he's either a freedom fighter or a terrorist-you decide-ready to risk his life to strike at the Israeli military with his childhood friends Tarek (Eyad Hourani) and Amjad (Samer Bisharat). Arrested after the killing of an Israeli soldier and tricked into an admission of guilt by association, he agrees to work as an informant. So begins a dangerous game-is he playing his Israeli handler (Waleed F. Zuaiter) or will he really betray his cause? And who can he trust on either side? Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now) has made a dynamic, action-packed drama about the insoluable moral dilemmas and tough choices facing those on the frontlines of a conflict that shows no sign of letting up. (c) Adopt Films
  • Rating:
    NR
  • Genre:
    Drama
  • Directed By:
    Hatem Ali
  • In Theaters:
     limited
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    Adopt Films

Cast

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Critic Reviews for Omar

All Critics (86) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (9)

  • Abu-Assad does not aim for the Dardennes' breathless immediacy. Rather, the story is laid out in a lucid, diagrammatic way, like a mathematical proof that for someone in Omar's position there are no right choices.

    June 4, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

    Jake Wilson

    Sydney Morning Herald
    Top Critic

  • Abu-Assad is simply reflecting the ever-changing nature of his characters' daily lives in a fraught and strange environment in which betrayal has become endemic.

    May 30, 2014 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Geoffrey Macnab

    Independent (UK)
    Top Critic

  • The story dishes out action and surprises without losing its political intent.

    May 29, 2014 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Steve Rose

    Guardian
    Top Critic

  • Abu-Assad cares about his characters and their wretched but thrilling situations.

    May 29, 2014 | Rating: 4/5

    Sophie Monks Kaufman

    Little White Lies
    Top Critic

  • A shell game of betrayal and counter-betrayal set in the worlds of police informing and sectarian score-settling on either side of the Israel-Palestine divide.

    May 29, 2014 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Nigel Andrews

    Financial Times
    Top Critic

  • This gripping Palestinian thriller evokes Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers in its depiction of not only the psychological pressures faced by people under occupation, but the murky moral consequences of retaliating.

    April 17, 2014 | Full Review…

    Dave Kehr

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (86)

Audience Reviews for Omar

  • Sep 20, 2014
    Like with Paradise Now, Abu-Assad finds a perfect balance between delicate drama and taut thriller in this well-constructed Palestinian film that depicts with intense realism life under Israeli occupation, while posing difficult questions to which there are no easy answers.
    Carlos M Super Reviewer
  • Mar 01, 2014
    "Omar" surprised me. With such a short running time, I did not expect the film to have such emotional depth to it, but it really took advantage of it's 98 minute run time, which I really admired. The lead actor steals the show with his very gentle and kind performance, but when his character needs to be reckless he really let's loose. As Omar grows up hanging around his friends, all they do is terrorize the town at night, and when one of his friends commit murder, they are on the run, and Omar's love, family, and friends are all at risk. This is an emotionally satisfying film with a perfectly executed conclusion. Such a great picture!
    KJ P Super Reviewer
  • Feb 24, 2014
    Omar(Adam Bakri) climbs the security wall for his job in Israel at a bakery, in order to save up enough money to marry Nadia(Leem Lubany) who he trades notes with. However, that course of action is not entirely without risk, as he also dodges bullets and faces the tough questioning and beatings of any Israeli troops he cannot dodge. Otherwise, he hangs out with his childhood friends, Tarek(Eyad Hourani), Nadia's older brother, and Amjad(Samer Bisharat) who does a cool Brando impression. Together, they go into the woods for target practice before taking aim for real at an Israeli soldier... While "Omar" has certain faults like a couple of inexplicable plot strands that serve only to move the story along and a sudden, problematic ending, it is still a solid, morally complex movie that goes beyond simple politics to show how actions do have consequences. On the one hand, you have the title character who risks his possible happiness with Nadia for the future of his people. Making this harder emotionally is Rami(Waleed F. Zuaiter, who is excellent), an Israeli agent, who uses much more humane methods to get information than lighting a fire under somebody's scrotum. All the while, Omar's lawyer(Yael Lerer) has the best solution and a perfectly common sense one when she says to end the occupation.
    Walter M Super Reviewer
  • Feb 23, 2014
    'Omar'. The stakes are high in this love story that balances tender and tense admirably. Ultimately, very Shakespearesque.
    c0up   Super Reviewer
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