TALE OF THREE JEWELS
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.0 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
UK/Belgium/Palestine, 1995 Running Length: 1:47 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Violence, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Shown at the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema, 5/3/96, 5/5/96, 5/9/96
Cast: Mohammad Nahlal, Hana Ne'meh, Ghassan Abu Libda, Makram Khouri,
Bushra Qaraman
Director: Michel Khleifi
Producers: Michel Khleifi and Omar Al-Qattan
Screenplay: Michel Khleifi
Cinematography: Raymond Fromont
Music: Abed Azarieh
In Arabic with subtitles
Twelve-year old Yusef (Mohammad Nahlal) has a problem that's common to adolescent boys: he's in love with an older girl. The object of his affection is Aida (Hana Ne'meh), the daughter of a Gypsy family, and, while she likes him too, she's not above playing games and seeing how far she can manipulate him. When she mentions that the one who will marry her must find the lost three jewels on her grandmother's necklace, Yusef is determined to travel to South America to look for them. His chosen method of transportation is, to say the least, unusual.
There's a serious side to this mostly-lighthearted, magical romp. Filmed entirely in Gaza, TALE OF THE THREE JEWELS uses the uneasy political backdrop as a story element. Yusef's father is in prison for an unspecified act against the Israelis, and his brother is a member of an illegal guerrilla organization. Curfews are imposed every night, and traveling after dark becomes a dangerous prospect.
One of the things that TALE OF THE THREE JEWELS does exceptionally well is to illustrate that even in a land torn by strife, life and childhood go on. Yusef's environment hasn't warped him -- he's basically a well-adjusted young boy with many of the same hopes and fears as other children all around the world. Occasionally, violence erupts suddenly, but Yusef is able to shrug it off. It's part of his everyday life, and, beyond the initial shock caused by the first shots, he has learned to cope with it.
Director Michel Khleifi, who directed 1987's WEDDING IN GALILEE, shows a deft hand at incorporating the divergent elements of stark violence and magic realism into this coming-of-age tale. The ending is ambiguous, and we're left unsure whether the final scene reflects a dream or reality. As a result, those who want a happy ending can have it; those who crave something more tragic can use that interpretation. In the final analysis, TALE OF THREE JEWELS is about the resilience and boundless optimism of children -- qualities that the nonstop brutality of Gaza have sucked out of many adults.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net web: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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