"Alternative Cinema" Marathon #2: The Middle East!

All--IF THIS IS TO HAPPEN, I WILL NEED YOUR COOPERATION ASAP!! The projected date is VERY SOON! So please read the post--ALL OF IT!

Alright...these past few days, I have been watching movies galore! Thanks in large part to Boxing Day and my endless love of foreign / independent / small films, I've been kept quite busy. I've really taken the opportunity of no school to catch up on everything I've ever wanted to watch--an ongoing list that gets constantly updated as I continually dig and search for more.

THE PLAN:
DECEMBER 30th (for owscorpio--come!!)
There's a set of movies chosen out, of which we'd probably watch 2-3 (unless people seriously want to go for ALL 5!!). YOU will notify ME of your preferences, INCLUDING the amount you wouldn't mind watching (1-5), BY E-MAIL. This is for privacy's sake. Not to single anyone out, but some people have strong opinions about films (okay, okay, it's you, OB!), so I don't want it done in the comments. I don't expect a flame war at all to erupt amongst you, but we'll probably all silently judge. ;) ("She wants to watch the kid's film??" or something--yes, one of them, to my understanding, is probably like rated G).

You aren't required to be here for all of them. Judging by how many we'd watch, I'd set a start time for the event, and schedule the movies accordingly to your private votes. You can trust in my total neutrality, because regardless of what happens or even if this event runs, I'll be watching each film anyway. I just thought, "Why not let friends join me?" :D

Come for the whole thing, or come when you want. :) Maybe this is too loose to work, but we'll see.

IF IT'S A LONG EVENT, I HOPE FOR FOOD HELP, PLEASE (POTLUCK)!

DETAILS:
The last big movie thing at my place centered around Oscar Nominees. Well, I've come to think that that's too limiting--I've since seen plenty of great other films not given much or any recognition at all. On a dining out today with family, I used some of the time to come up with a new batch of films I'd like to watch, because yes, I've run through those at my disposal already, new or otherwise.

It just so happened that two I recalled I've really wanted to watch came from the Middle East--"Broken Wings" (Israel) and "Osama" (Afghanistan). So, I decided to just use it as a theme. With the help of IMDB's movies by ratings and countries list (my greatest weapon in finding reputable alternative cinema), I've secured 3 other films. All are within the top 20 most-rated-by-users movies of their respective nations (filtering out what I've already seen and the bad, of course--for example, quite a lot could have rated movie A, but if its score was below 7, it was cut). Choices were also influenced by availability at rental places.

THE MOVIES:
Here are the five candidates...

BROKEN WINGS............(Israel)
CHILDREN OF HEAVEN....(Iran)
LATE MARRIAGE...........(Israel)
OSAMA.....................(Afghanistan/Iran) NOT about Mr. bin Laden!
THE BUBBLE..............(Israel)

Why so many Israeli or Iranian films? Because they are hands-down the most stable and able to produce films, with a more or less "modern" industry (moreso Israel). No intention of excluding or particularly picking some nations, just the way things are.

SOME of these films appear to be centered on issues, rather than just drama / comedy / whatever. That may either be a turn on or turn off for you, so here are my impressions (it's a split): OSAMA is definitely issues-heavy. THE BUBBLE seems moderately concerned with issues (one singular review I heard called it romantic comedy, which is throwing me for a loop, even when most don't, so I dunno). LATE MARRIAGE is on the fence--I don't know how much they explore tradition and arranged marriages, or whether it's just a setup. The remaining appear more about the drama (BROKEN WINGS) or the comedy / drama (CHILDREN OF HEAVEN).

If it matters to you, CHILDREN OF HEAVEN would likely be the G-rated movie. For all else, be aware that there may be sex, violence, and nudity. We'll see to what extent, won't we?

Now...SEND ME YOUR E-MAILS ASAP! Hope this works out! :) Or if you need it, here are some brief plot synopses for the movies. I DO NOT know how reputable these are:

BROKEN WINGS
"Broken Wings" is a poignant, slice-of-life drama about an Israeli family's coming to terms with the death of their father nine months earlier. The widow, Dafna, is a 43 year-old mother of four who works endless hours as a midwife at the local hospital, both to earn money to support her family as well as to avoid having to face the reality of the tragic loss she has suffered. For while she is a loving, devoted mother, she seems unable to provide the guidance and solace her children need in this time of incomprehensible grief and suffering. Thus, the children are left to cope more or less on their own as best they can - and this on top of all the problems young people face just doing the ordinary, day-to-day business of growing up.

CHILDREN OF HEAVEN
The Children Of Heaven follows the relationship between an impoverished brother and sister, Ali and Zahra, who are thrust into a difficult circumstance all revolving around a pair of sneakers. How they choose to solve their problem themselves, without telling their parents, is what makes the story so heart-warming and unique. What follows is a tender, moving tale of compassion, determination, and deep family love.

LATE MARRIAGE
Zaza is a 31-year old Israeli bachelor, handsome and intelligent, and his family wants to see him married. But tradition dictates that Zaza has to choose a young virgin. She must be beautiful and from a good family, preferably rich. Zaza's parents, Yasha and Lily drag Zaza to meet potential brides and their families. Zaza has no choice. He plays along with his family, advocates of the suffocating traditions of their Georgian Jewish heritage. But Zaza always manages to somehow get out of being engaged. What his parents don't know is that Zaza is already in love. Judith is sensuous, strong and intriguing. She's also a divorcée with a 6-year-old daughter. So Zaza has kept Judith a secret from his family. He will have to choose between respect of the strict confines of family and tradition, or the love of his life.

OSAMA
A 12-year-old Afghan girl and her mother lose their jobs when the Taliban closes the hospital where they work. The Taliban have also forbidden women to leave their houses without a male "legal companion." With her husband and brother dead, killed in battle, there is no one left to support the family. Without being able to leave the house, the mother is left with nowhere to turn. Feeling that she has no other choice, she disguises her daughter as a boy. Now called 'Osama,' the girl embarks on a terrifying and confusing journey as she tries to keep the Taliban from finding out her true identity. Inspired by a true story, Osama is the first entirely Afghan film shot since the fall of the Taliban.

THE BUBBLE
The movie follows a group of young friends in the city of Tel Aviv and is as much a love song to the city as it is an exploration of the claim that people in Tel Aviv are isolated from the rest of the country and the turmoil it's going through. The movie looks at young people's lives in Tel Aviv through the POVs of gays and straights, Jews and Arabs, men and women. It all begins when Noam, a young Israeli soldier, serves in the reserve forces and meets at a check point a Palestinian young man called Ashraf. Following an incident during which Noam misplaces his ID card at the check point, Ashraf shows up on the doorstep of the apartment that Noam shares with a gay man and a straight woman. How will the meeting affect all of their lives?