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Ajami

Ajami

2009
Drama, Crime
2h 4m
Jaffa's Ajami neighborhood is a melting pot of cultures and conflicting views among Jews, Muslims and Christians. 13-year-old Nasri and his older brother live in fear after their uncle wounds a prominent clan member. Naive young Palestinian refugee Malek works illegally in Israel to pay for the surgery that will save his mother. Wealthy Palestinian Binj dreams of a bright future with his Jewish girlfriend. Jewish policeman Dando seeks revenge when his brother is found murdered in the West Bank. (Press release)

Directed by:

Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani

Screenwriter:

Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani

Starring:

Fouad Habash, Nisrine Rihan, Elias Saba, Youssef Sahwani, Abu George Shibli, Ibrahim Frege, Scandar Copti

Genres:

Drama, Crime

Countries:

Germany, Israel

Languages:

Hebrew, Arabic
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Ajami

2009
Drama, Crime
2h 4m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 55.66% from 181 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

(183)
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moribunnyMoribunny
Rated 19 Oct 2009
58
48th
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.
Rated 19 Oct 2009
filmfreak88filmfreak88
Rated 05 Sep 2010
70
54th
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.
Rated 05 Sep 2010
fredericg54frederic_g54
Rated 16 Apr 2010
6
35th
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.
Rated 16 Apr 2010
graveyardtangraveyardtan
Rated 24 Feb 2010
80
57th
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.
Rated 24 Feb 2010
elmakebabielmakebabi
Rated 18 Sep 2021
59
35th
An interwoven story about how geography can determine people's fate. This storytelling and editing is somewhat refreshing however in the end the whole film feels neither bad nor good. And ultimately it's doomed to be forgettable as a result of failing to make audience care for the wooden characters.
Rated 18 Sep 2021
aaasolankiaaasolanki
Rated 29 Jul 2017
62
9th
The movie has five loosely tied chapters and it makes use of a recurring theme of bringing those five chapters together in the climax. Think Babel or Crash, for example. The reason I didn't like the movie was because I was relying on sub-titles and wasn't able to keep pace with the ties between the chapters. I believe a better job could have been done of synching up the chapters. The cinematography is almost documentary like is some places.
Rated 29 Jul 2017
glm01glm01
Rated 23 Mar 2014
87
91st
86.500
Rated 23 Mar 2014
martintellerMartinTeller
Rated 03 May 2011
73
45th
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.
Rated 03 May 2011
parcalihamparcaliham
Rated 22 Mar 2011
80
64th
istanbul film festivali, yeni ruya sinemasi.
Rated 22 Mar 2011
ebelcEbelC
Rated 08 Feb 2011
50
28th
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 that's what really happened?" ending.
Rated 08 Feb 2011
glmglm
Rated 28 Dec 2010
86
83rd
85.750
Rated 28 Dec 2010
slantmagSlantMag
Rated 08 Nov 2010
20
41st
"More impressive as a formal exercise than as a means to deepen our understanding of the characters or their situations." - Andrew Schenker
Rated 08 Nov 2010
ranaldRanald
Rated 02 Aug 2010
75
63rd
Interestingly plotted drama of crime and poverty. Notable for its unusual setting and naturalistic dialogue and acting.
Rated 02 Aug 2010
nunstranglernunstrangler
Rated 18 Jul 2010
86
83rd
Moving, powerful portrait of a society where violence permeates even the most insignificant aspects of daily life.
Rated 18 Jul 2010
stainStain
Rated 22 Feb 2010
20
19th
It should not be so hard to stay awake during a movie about (in part) drugs, and which has this much violence
Rated 22 Feb 2010

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