I can't see what's so great about this film. Though is not bad and technically it works, the story to me seems quite boring, the different plots awfully mixed, and of course, the last 30-40 minutes are absolutely unnecessary, just trying to explain things that have no need to be explained or could be easy added to the main story instead of putting them in the end to have a "what a surprise, so it was that what really happened?" ending.

istanbul film festivali, yeni ruya sinemasi.

The ending was uncalled for but overall 'Ajami' is a great film and an important accomplishment in a country that is so torn by intolerance and misunderstandings. It's true I'm a sucker for interconnected stories and films about minorities, but it's still a solid film that deserves all the attention it got.

85.750

This is a perfectly fine movie, but doesn't stand out from the pack of similar movies. It's a lot of been-there-done-that, and maybe I've seen one too many of this type of film. The documentary style, interlocking plot threads, fractured timeline, the themes and situations... all very familiar. The Israeli/Arab angle is the only fresh thing about it, and it doesn't really do much to shed any light on that. However, the performances are really good and there's nothing truly bad about the film.

"More impressive as a formal exercise than as a means to deepen our understanding of the characters or their situations." - Andrew Schenker

Brutal movie about the many conflicts on the street level in Israel/Palestine, and about more or less sympathetic people trying to survive. Nonlinear structure and lots and lots of charactes, demanding full focus from the viewer. Very well written and performed. Deserves credit for highlighting not just the Israeli-Arab tensions but also conflicts within the Palestinian people: Muslims vs Christians, Arab citizens of Israel vs people living in the Palestinian Authority, beduins vs urban Arabs.

Tries to balance a hard hitting portrait with a thought provoking message yet only succeeds, moderately, with the first part. With so much going on, the film deprives us from any chance of empathy for the characters or engagement with the narrative. I still consider it to be a bold accomplishment for tackling the subject and capturing the ongoing struggle with much needed credibility and awareness. A mixed bag but still worth a watch.

It should not be so hard to stay awake during a movie about (in part) drugs, and which has this much violence

For a movie about bridging the gap between the Jews and the Arabs, Ajami is heavily slanted towards the Arabs. I don't have a particular leaning one way or the other, but I found there to be very few identifiable Jews in this film other than Dando, and a lot of Israel comes off as slightly fascist in its policing tactics. Still, it's well plotted, and has some good performances from a lot of first timers.

The film gets the heartbreaking moments right and the execution is particularly well done but it suffers from an unnecessarily convoluted and intertwining subplots that leave too much to coincidence to be properly convincing. And this takes away some of the film's hard-hitting impact.

Interestingly plotted drama of crime and poverty. Notable for its unusual setting and naturalistic dialogue and acting.

Moving, powerful portrait of a society where violence permeates even the most insignificant aspects of daily life.

I really wanted to love this. A movie about Israeli Arabs in Jaffa (made by a pair of first-timers: an Arab and a Jew) is a novelty and one of some social significance for Israel. In terms of authenticity and naturalism it's a great achievement. Sadly, they tried to cram too many plotlines - all heavily dramatic - into one movie. Worse yet, most of them involve violent crime, making it look as if nothing ever happens in Jaffa except shootings, stabbings, drug traffic and police brutality.