The Syrian Bride: Movie Review By David Kempler

"The Syrian Bride" accomplishes the near impossible. It manages to tell a very simple story in the midst of very extraordinary circumstances. It also presents another side in the seemingly endless amount of sides in Middle East politics by focusing on the Druze, a people of between 350,000 and 900,000 worldwide, with an estimated 600,000 in the Middle East. They live mostly in mountainous terrain and the family in this film lives in the hilly and disputed land known as the Golan Heights. Considered non-Muslims by other Muslims they are caught between Israel and Syria. Some side with the Syrians while others have no allegiance to either country.

The entire movie takes place on this very small tract of land and tells the tale of Mona (Clara Khoury) a young Druze woman who is betrothed to her cousin Tallel (Derar Sliman), a television star who lives in Syria. Because of the political realities there, once she goes to him in Syria she can never return. Syria's refusal to recognize the legal statehood of a passport signed by an Israeli is worthless. This causes Mona to be a prisoner caught between Israel and Syria, both figuratively and literally. Truly a woman without a country.

In spite of the necessary politics of "The Syrian Bride", Israeli director Eran Riklis manages to see it all from a family unit level rather than solely as part of a bigger political picture. What is most amazing is that despite all of the chaos surrounding the story, Riklis has created a very human look at a family that could be living anywhere. They have their internal family squabbles just like everyone else but the love throughout all of them is palpable.

The flat out shining star here is Mona's married older sister, Amal (Hiam Abbas). Like seemingly in every society and religion, men always appear to be in charge while it is the women that truly control the family unit. Amal is a beacon of strength and morality among bureaucratic nonsense, and the huffing and puffing of very little men. She is the glue and she is the fuel. Without her, everything would seem totally hopeless.

Even though things could not possibly be more dire, Riklis keeps the movie moving with humor. It is this humor sprinkled throughout that makes this a very special story. By handling it this way Riklis does a masterful job of portraying the little absurdities of conflict, whether they be between countries or between two people. "The Syrian Bride" works on many levels and is so believable that you personally feel like you know all of the characters. For the most part it would be a distinct pleasure to really get to know these people. Since on screen is the closest you can come to experiencing this reality you should make it your business to take advantage of your chance to see this gem.