"Amreeka," a movie about Palestinian immigrants moving to the United States at the dawn of the 2003 Iraq invasion, should be praised as much for what it is not as what it is. The movie depicts the story of a mother and son looking for a fresh start in suburban Illinois and is a wonderfully heartfelt movie about human resilience and the power of family.
An impressive independent film with an inexperienced writer/director (Cherien Dabis) telling a semi-autobiographical story, "Amreeka" does not demonize the American people. The plot and its antagonists caricature ignorant American xenophobes, but the light-handed manner in which Dabis doles out racism makes the audience feel comfortable with it as a part of the story rather than attacked as if the story itself were an accusation. The movie opens with scenes of everyday life for the film's two main characters, Muna (Nisreen Faour) and her teenage son Fadi (Melkar Muallem), in Ramallah, the occupied Palestinian city they call home. Muna works at a bank separated from her house by an Israeli blockade, making what would be a 15-minute commute to work a two-hour ordeal involving constant ID checks and humiliating searches of her car. To add insult to injury, Muna regularly runs into her ex-husband and his new skinny girlfriend.
When Muna receives a letter telling her that her application to move to America has been accepted, Muna and Fadi leave behind their tense but familiar home in Palestine for a suburban town outside of Chicago. In this new world, the tangible dangers for Fadi and Muna are left behind, but the two — along with their extended family already waiting for them in America — struggle to adjust to their new lives without losing their identity.
Fadi attempts to navigate the hallways of his high school as though it were an Israeli security checkpoint, keeping to himself and trying not to offend anyone. But Mike (Daniel Boiteau), the zealous brother of a soldier in Iraq, provokes Fadi and his outspoken cousin Salma (Alia Shawkat) into an ideological — and at times physical — battle. While Mike's character is clearly the stigmatized "ignorant American," Dabis portrays his brand of racism as a symptom of youth rather than the nature of American culture.
For Muna, life in America is not much better. She finds that her extensive work experience and multiple degrees are not enough to secure her a respectable career and ends up taking a job at White Castle, which she spends the majority of the film denying to her family. Scenes of her sneaking into the White Castle across the street from the bank, where Muna's sister (Hiam Abbass) thinks that Muna works, provide some much-needed light humor to the film.
Despite hardships — her humiliating job, lack of money and increasingly rebellious and isolated son — Muna keeps a relentlessly positive attitude. Her unflappable character makes even her smallest victories monumental and helps the audience connect to her.
Overall, "Amreeka" is a wonderful but flawed film. The biggest problem with the movie is one symptomatic of many independent pictures: Very little actually happens during the film. Director Cherien Dabis gets so caught up with developing sympathetic characters that she forgets to include a captivating plot. This problem is exacerbated by a truly abrupt and perplexing ending that leaves the audience feeling robbed.
Having very little plot in the hands of a weaker cast or director would certainly have made the movie a disaster, but in the end, the film stands tall despite these shortcomings. Dabis' detailed depiction of a misunderstood people and her delicate balance of American ignorance and understanding makes "Amreeka" a worthwhile endeavor. It would have been very easy for Dabis to use the film as a 90-minute pro-Palestine political statement, but the movie would have been much the worse for it.
Dabis' shortcomings may come from lack of directorial experience and the fact that the script hit her too close to home. Her clear connection to the story seems to have made her incapable of taking a step back from the film and thinking of it as a purely aesthetic form. In essence, Dabis cared too much — certainly not the gravest of cinematic crimes. Still, stellar acting, in-depth character development and the intriguing nature of the storyline drive "Amreeka" home.
