Omar screening: Movie portrays life of Palestinians in captivity

Award-winning film showcases how West Bank has become a hindrance to love and friendship

ISLAMABAD: A feature film screened at Lok Virsa Media Centre on Saturday, offers deep insight into simmering humanitarian crisis and the lifestyle in the Palestinian territory.

The film was selected as the best foreign language film at the 86th Academy Awards in 2013. It reveals how the West Bank has become a hindrance to love and friendship for the Palestinians. It describes the effects of captivity on the human being.

“Omar” was also screened at the United Nations in New York in 2014.

The film, directed by Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad, also won the best feature film at the Asian-Pacific Screen Award at Toronto International Film Festival.

The story revolves around a boy Omar (Adam Bakri) a Palestinian baker and frequently climbs the West Bank barrier to visiting his lover Nadia (Leem Lubany).

To find his destination, Omar seeks the help of his childhood friends--Tarek and Amjad. On their way, they are beaten up by a group of Israeli soldiers, and in retaliation, Amjad attacks an Israeli checkpoint killing an Israeli soldier.

As a result of the murder of their soldier, Israeli authorities pursue them and capture Omar and imprison him. Facing a lengthy prison term, Omar is forcibly compelled by an Israeli agent Rami into working as an agent for the Israeli authorities. Agent Rami secures Omar’s release in exchange for his assurance to get Tarek for the Israeli authorities.

Omar’s early release fosters suspicion among his community, who look at him as a suspected collaborator. Omar’s plight is further complicated by the fact that his lover (Nadia) is Tarek’s sister. Due to Omar’s delay in keeping his side of the bargain, he is rearrested by the Israeli authorities.

During his imprisonment, he makes a second deal with agent Rami to find out who is betraying the Palestinian militants. Omar later learns that his friend Amjad is a spy. When confronted, Amjad confesses that Nadia was pregnant with his child and that the Israelis used that to blackmail him into working for them.

Omar forces Amjad to confess to Tarek. During a struggle between the three, Tarek is killed when his gun accidentally goes off. With the help of agent Rami, Omar and Amjad manage to hide their involvement in Tarek’s death. Two years later, Omar visits Nadia and finds he was totally betrayed by Amjad who was not having an affair with Nadia and was now married to her with two children. She still loves Omar and learns that Amjad did not deliver letters she wrote to Omar before marriage. Then he is revisited by agent Rami who attempts to force him into killing another ringleader.

During a meeting with agent Rami, Omar tricks him to give him a gun under the pretext of killing Amjad. Omar kills agent Rami as an easy way out.

A large number of people attended the show.

“It was one of the best movies I have seen. I admire the originality of the movie because the characters were socially attached to the reality,” said Talha, an audience.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th, 2016.