Omar

Omar is a thriller about a young Palestinian man who gets caught up in a cat and mouse game with the Israeli police, his two childhood friends, and the woman he loves. Written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad, it centers on the current situation in  Israel's Occupied territories.   Beyond the great performances by actors Adam Bakri (Omar) and Waleed Zuaiter (Agent Rami), is a taut and convoluted storyline that puts a special and realistic spin on the ideas of betrayal, trust, love, and innocence lost. There's a very nicely crafted tenseness in the performances and script, that play up very well against the beautiful camera work throughout, comparable to 2002's City Of God. Where it also excels, is in showcasing a story from a very misunderstood politically charged part of the world without easily falling into the overt one sided politics of what one would expect.  As the title would also suggest and foreshadow, it's very character driven instead.