Movie Review: In Between

Scene from Palenstinian drama In Between

This debut feature by Maysaloun Hamoud gives a fascinating glimpse into the lives of three Palestinian women living in Tel Aviv as they navigate their lives in between the cultures surrounding them.

Layla, Salma and Nour share an apartment in Tel Aviv's Yemenite quarter, and while they're from different backgrounds they have one thing in common; they're trying to be true to themselves.

Layla (Hawa) is a successful and sexually liberated lawyer who likes to party hard, while quieter Salma (Jammelieh) is a part time chef and DJ who's afraid to tell her Christian parents she's gay. They're joined in their flat by the pious and hijab-wearing Nour (Kanboura), who is resisting her fiance's wish to marry quickly and return to his village, so she can complete her computer-science degree.

You expect some cultural clash, and at first there is - Nour is taken aback by her flatmate's liberated lives. But, as their romantic and family relationships go sour and the reality hits that their modern lives aren't accepted by either mainstream Israelis or their own conservative Palestinian worlds, they only have each other for support.

While In Between focuses on the big picture and how the girls choose to live their lives, it also captures the smaller day-to-day moments of being in a minority. Israeli shopkeepers eye the girls warily and Salma is told not to speak Arabic in the kitchen of the restaurant where she works - it unsettlesthe customers trying to enjoy their lunch.

Hamoud keeps the pace moving and the tone casual, with the issues constantly simmering beneath the surface. But what really stands out about Hamoud's work is that it's female-centric and about sex, and there's not a terrorist in sight. A refreshing, and no doubt challenging, Palestinian film indeed.

Cast: Mouna Hawa, Sana Jammelieh, Shaden Kanboura
Director: Maysaloun Hamoud
Running Time: 102 mins
Rating: R13 (Violence, offensive language, drug use, sexual violence & content that may disturb)
Verdict: A modern, sassy Palestinian female drama.

DID YOU KNOW...

In 2006, An Inconvenient Truth became the first documentary ever to win two Academy Awards. Despite accepting the Oscar for best documentary and making a speech, Al Gore did not actually win the award, rather it went to director David Guggenheim.