A Movie Review — "The Bubble"

This is a movie review of Eytan Fox's new film "The Bubble" that I wrote for a magazine. I struggled a bit with what to say about this one. I know Fox based the plot loosely on Romeo and Juliet and so wanted to match the story to that to some extent, which is why the ending looks like it looks. Perhaps he chose the ending he chose because he wanted a metaphor for the mutually damaging and corrosive effects of Palestinian/Israeli violence. Still, I felt like it ended up reminding me a bit too much of the "never trust an Arab" mentality that tends to lurk its head among us Jews from time to time. I still feel iffy about that. Though I like Fox's work (despite the occasional cornball factor) and in many ways it was a highly enjoyable film.

Here's what I wrote:

The Bubble

The title of Eytan Fox's The Bubble refers to the hip young neighborhood in Tel Aviv where most of the film takes place. The idea is, inside it, you'd almost not know there was a conflict going on. The movie opens with Noam (Ohad Knoller) an Israeli record store clerk, on half-hearted reserve duty at a checkpoint. There he meets Ashraf (Yousef Sweid), a young Palestinian guy from Nablus, as they both try to help a Palestinian woman laboring with a dying baby.

Despite this inauspicious start, attraction ensues. Later that night, Ashraf shows up on Noam's doorstep. Cue hot man-on-man lovemaking. Ashraf has nowhere else to go, so Noam moves him into the Tel Aviv apartment he shares with two roommates. The flaky ineffectual nature of the roommates' political statements could grate the most resilient of nerves. (Beach rave against the occupation, anyone?) But, hey, you can't hate them for trying. For a moment it seems Ashraf and Noam might make it. But this is the Middle East, and things go pear-shaped pretty fast.

The Bubble doesn't quite pack the same nuanced punch as Fox's best-known film Yossi and Jagger, a love story about two gay Israeli soldiers (hubba! hubba!). As with the earnest beach-ravers, you want to laud Fox for his righteous attempt, but good intentions don't save The Bubble from occasional swings into formula and stereotype. This is not to say Fox subscribes to Hollywood plot conventions — which would be ill suited to the Middle East anyway.