Free Zone

[Pirate]

Some Buy, Rent or Trash action in the OWC!



Cast: Natalie Portman, Hanna Laslo, Hiam Abbass

Director: Amos Gitai

Writer: Amos Gitai

DVD Info:
1.85:1 Anamorphic
DD 5.1
Region 2 (France)
PAL

FILM:
“Free Zone” is an Israeli film by director Amos Gitai. By all accounts it’s a road movie: a brief trip from Israel to Jordan, and back again. What is most interesting about the film is that the entire thing is a blunt metaphor that didn’t occur to me until after I had finished watching it. The storytelling and setting are so entrancing that I got totally lost in the film.

The story revolves around three women: Rebecca (Natalie Portman), Hanna (Hanna Laszlo) and Leila (Hiam Abbass). Rebecca is an American who has just had a horrible breakup with her boyfriend. She flees her hotel and gets into a random cab driven by Hanna, an Israeli. Rebecca asks Hanna to take her somewhere, anywhere, just as long as it’s away from where she is. Hanna has business in Jordan and agrees to take Rebecca along. Hanna’s business is to pick up money that is owed to her husband. Leila, a Palestinian, is added to the trio when it is discovered that the money that is owed to Hanna has been taken by Leila’s son. They have to now cross back into Israel to recover it.

The film is in English, Hebrew, Arabic and a few other languages that are spoken briefly. Since I, unfortunately, don’t speak any of those other languages, I was only able to pick up the English parts. This meant that I had to rely on the visuals to tell the story. This was an interesting experience for several reasons. One, because it made me feel like a stranger in a strange land, which was helpful because even though Rebecca spoke Hebrew, she spoke very little Arabic, so when she was struggling to understand the situation, I was as well. This brought an extra sense of empathy to the central character. Two, not understanding some of the more intense scenes gave me leave to focus on the performances and to let them tell me the story through the actor’s expressions and reactions to each other. Amazingly, I was able to decipher what was going on in almost every scene. And finally, the lack of translation added a sense of urgency and tension that may not have been there if I was able to understand the language. These things gave me an alternate perspective that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. I’d be very interested to see the film with proper subtitles to see how my reactions to the film change.

I’ve never seen any of director Gitai’s work, but his visual style is engaging and, for lack of a better adjective, odd. He shows flashbacks by superimposing scenes on top of each other. We see a past conversation and, at the same time, the film progresses underneath that image. It’s a bit jarring at first, but it’s definitely a different way to tell a story and it doesn’t happen enough to become a hindrance. Adding to Gitai’s style is cinematographer, Laurent Brunet. Almost the entire film is shot with low budget film and hand-held cameras. Brunet’s camera work can become very claustrophobic which serves some of the tenser moments in the film.

As I said, the performances really had to carry most of the film for me and they did so beautifully. Hanna Laszlo portrays the driver as a woman hardened to her situation. She seems to run on the routine of survival at this point in her life. Hiam Abbass, who plays Leila, doesn’t have as much screen time as the other two leads, but she is effective nonetheless. Leila and Hanna bicker throughout the film about seemingly petty things, but there’s also an underlying respect for one another. Natalie Portman, who plays Rebecca, is the observer. She listens to the plight of the two women and to the people they meet along the way. This is one of Portman’s finest performances to date. Through her observations, Rebecca changes as she travels through the foreign landscape with these two strangers. Portman portrays that with intense clarity.

I highly recommend this film. It’s a thoughtful story full of complex ideas and rich characters. It also gives viewers a rare peek into parts of the Middle East that we might not see otherwise. It really is an alternate insight into a part of the world that most of us know very little about.

Unfortunately, you will not be able to go down to your local multiplex or Blockbuster to see the film. I couldn’t wait to see it, so I actually ordered it from France, thus no English subtitles. Keep your eyes open it for, though. It was set to have a limited release in April, which means a region 1 DVD can’t be too far away. Hopefully.

VIDEO:
This is a low budget film and the video shows it. There is a lot of grain, halos and a few compression artifacts here and there. It doesn’t hinder the film, though. The grittier look makes it feel more authentic.

AUDIO:
The audio is DD 5.1, but it’s almost all dialogue, so only passing cars and ambient noise take advantage of the rear channels. The dialogue is clear and audible, which is what’s most important. Even if you don’t speak the language.