Amreeka

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

A Palestinian single mother and her son resettle in the American Midwest with bittersweet results, in first-time director Cherien Dabis' gentle fish-out-of-water comedy drama Amreeka. Nisreen Faour stars as divorcee Mouna, a resident of the West Bank who works as a local bank manager while raising her 16-year-old son, Fadi (Melkar Muallem), on the side. Each day, the two must put their lives in jeopardy by driving through potentially lethal Middle Eastern checkpoints to accomplish their daily business, but their situation changes dramatically when Mouna finally succeeds at getting a green card. The two fly from Jerusalem to Chicago, but get a bitter taste of the reality behind the American dream when the customs department claims the money that Mouna wrapped in a cookie tin, leaving her penniless. The nascent immigrants promptly move in with Mouna's sister, Raghda (Hiam Abbass of Lemon Tree), and her family, and Mouna sets about trying to find a bank job in the U.S. that is equivalent to her old position at home; unfortunately, this proves impossible and she ends up serving "sliders" at a White Castle fast food franchise and earning minimum wage. Meanwhile, Fadi begins attending a local high school and runs headfirst into not-so-subtle racism and the imminent threat of nativistic violence. ~ Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: All
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Features:
  • "Make A Wish" - a short film from director Cherien Dabis
  • Deleted scenes
  • Outakes

AWARDS

• Independent Spirit Awards

•     Nominated Best Feature - 2009
•     Nominated Best Female Lead - 2009 (Nisreen Faour)
•     Nominated Best First Screenplay - 2009 (Cherien Dabis)

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Independent Film - 2009

• New Directors/New Films

•     Film Presented - 2009

• Seattle International Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2009

• Sundance Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2009

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Nisreen Faour - Muna Farah
       Melkar Muallem - Fadi Farah
       Hiam Abbass - Raghda Halaby
       Yussuf Abu - Warda - Nabeel Halaby
       Alia Shawkat - Salma Halaby
       Joseph Ziegler - Mr. Novatski
       Amer Hlehel - Samer
       Selena Haddad - Lamis Halaby
       Jenna Kawar - Rana Halaby
       Suheila Muallem - Jamileh
       Brodie Sanderson - Matt
       Andrew Sannie - James
       Daniel Boiteau - Mike
       Jeff Sutton - Jason
       Miriam Smith - Bank Employee
       Glen Thompson - Nelson
       Mike O'Brien - Bank Manager

• Director:

  Cherien Dabis

• Producer:

  Alicia Sams, Cherien Dabis, Paul Barkin, Christina Piovesan

• Screenwriter:

  Cherien Dabis

• Cinematographer:

  Tobias Datum

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Doug Bernheim

• Composer (Music Score):

  Kareem Roustom

• Editor:

  Keith Reamer

• Production Designer:

  Adrian Leroux

• Co-producer:

  Liz Jarvis, Al-Zain Al-Sabah

• Executive Producer:

  Alicia Sams, Cherien Dabis, Gregory Keever

• Costume Designer:

  Patricia Henderson

• Production Manager:

  David Till

• Sound Mixer:

  Brock Capell

• Casting:

  Ellyn Long Marshall, Marie E. Nelson

REVIEW:

• In the basement of a suburban Illinois home, a recently immigrated Palestinian teenager tells his mother that living in America "sucks." Her response? "Every place sucks." Amreeka, written and directed by Cherien Dabis, is a stark reminder that life is hard for most people in the world, and would be regardless of where they lived. Even when theoretically improving their circumstances, they are often just exchanging a greater evil for a lesser one. It's especially so for these two Palestinians, perennial outsiders, who have a telling miscommunication with a U.S. immigration officer regarding the terms "country of origin" and "occupation." In following the mother, Muna (Nisreen Faour), and the son, Fadi (Melkar Muallem), from their lives in the West Bank to their lives in the American Midwest, Dabis contributes to a growing number of smart independent films that examine the prototypical immigrant experience in 21st century America. She sets the film in the days following the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which further complicated the prospects not only for recent Arab immigrants, but for those who had been stateside for years. But neither is it Dabis' intention to depress us. The film has numerous moments of whimsy, from sources as diverse as Muna's kvetching mother back in the West Bank, to Muna's blue-haired co-worker at White Castle, to Muna herself, whose attempts to earn money for her son demonstrate a determination that's both funny and touching. If anything, one might accuse Dabis of wrapping things up too cleanly. Amreeka ends with a scene of harmonious interracial celebration that seems almost naive given what's come before, not to mention abrupt in its suddenness. But Dabis' point seems to be this: when people are hoping against hope to better their lives, they can't afford not to believe in unlikely happy endings. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi