Let It Be Morning Movie Review

“Let It Be Morning” is a story based on tension and conflict. But it explains that predicament in ways that emphasize boredom and frustration. In a remote village in Israel, there is no way to avoid the uneasy feeling of being an entire town of Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. Especially when the road out of town is cut off and there is a military lock down…

Former resident of the small village is a man named Sami (played by Alex Bakri). He is only there for a visit with his family. His wife Mira (played by Juna Suleiman) and his young son are there from Jerusalem. Sami is an executive at a large firm and he is the first Arab manager in his division. But he never has any reason to go back to his hometown. But his brother’s wedding gives him a reason.

Sami’s brother Aziz (played by Samir Bishirat) and his new bride, Lina (played by Yara Elham Jarrar), have a fabulous wedding and reception. Sami’s father Tarek (played by Salim Daw) wants to make it a fine traditional ceremony. Tarek’s wife Zahera (played by Izabel Ramadan) does not say too much, but she frowns on Tarek getting too big for his britches.

Sami makes some calls and texts on the side. He has a mistress on the side, and he has made sure Mira does not know anything about it. Or at least, he thinks he has hidden all the details. They stay late at the party and leave very late in the evening. Driving on the one road that goes out of town, they are surprised by a road block. The Israeli military has cordoned off this area, and road is now closed.

They are turned back to Sami’s childhood home. It is back to the place that he worked so hard to get out of. They think it has been all one big misunderstanding, and the road will be opened the next day. But Sami is concerned, because he is charge of a big presentation at work. He needs to leave really soon. But it appears the road block is becoming a permanent feature.

Sami and Aziz have one sister named Rola (played by Areen Saba). She is married to Nabil (played by Doraid Liddawi), who is on the town council. He says that the military has not given any reason why this happened. International tensions are high, and there are many non-citizen Palestinians living and working in Israel. Perhaps they are trying to isolate towns that have big populations. Many of these undocumented are workers, like the ones who work for Tarek.

Sami has a person that he went to school with named Abed (Ehab Elias Salami). He is very glad Sami is back, but he is barely making a living. Sami is living with upper middle-class values. Abed is still scrapping out a living. He borrowed a huge sum from a local gangster named Nashraf (played by Nadib Spadi). Abed bought a van that he could use to transport people all around the region. Now with the lockdown, that option is gone.

On the first day of the road block, one guy gets a little hot-headed and tries to drive his van through the blockade. His van gets shot up, and he gets arrested and taken away. Sami talks to one of the military guards, a fellow named Elad (played by Costa Kaplan). He realizes that Elad’s brother went to the same collage as he did. Sami is able to contact his boss from work one night. But he finds out that he has been fired. Sami never showed up for the big presentation a few days ago, and never called into the office.

The days and days are adding up, and the situation keeps getting worse. There is a large wall built up next to the road block. Food is scarce. Water has dried up, and military has turned off the electricity. All cell phone transmissions are being blocked. Nashraf and his thug buddies have taken over from the town council. They go door-to-door to try and find illegal workers. Maybe if they turn them into the Israeli military, they think they can get some favors.

People go about trying to cope with the situation. They dance to music from the car radio, or take walks to fly a kite. Sami has time now to talk to Abed, and explain to him why he did not want to come back to the village. Some people talk about an armed rebellion. But an armed revolt would really not go anywhere, when the military has all the firepower that they need. They talk about moving away, and about moving back – or at least about moving on…

“Let It Be Morning” tells a somewhat difficult tale. There is so much tension between the Jewish people and the Palestinian people. That tension is heightened for those Palestinians who hold Israeli citizenship. Many of them feel they are in the country, but they are not part of the country. These folks in this village become suspended in time and in space. They seem to go on without knowing what will be coming next.

There is a lot of fine acting, and the look of the homes and the villages is spot on. At any point it seems like a shepherd could wander into town. The story meanders, but that is on purpose. There always is a thin layer of foreboding hanging over the village and all the confined occupants.

“Let It Be Morning” gets into a centuries-old conflict about struggles for land and power. But the only thing is shows you are the trails and travails of normal people in a locked-down village.

Playing at the Harkins Shea 16 Theaters in Scottsdale