Film Difficulty Ranking: 2
Why Watch Omar?
- Learn a little bit about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a Palestinian.
- Romantic love vs. Patriotism – which would you choose?
- It was nominated for an Academy Award!
- It was even screened at the United Nations = must be important!
The Breakdown
Omar starts with a man standing by a large concrete wall watching cars pass by. As soon as the cars on the road disappear he climbs up a long rope attached to the concrete wall. As he reaches the top gun shots fly by him and he drops down quickly on the other side. He made it but his hands are bloodied from the rope burns. He disappears into the streets to dodge any potential chasers.
The tension in Omar is always present. You never know when Omar is going to be chased. He never has complete freedom as the Israeli police are always watching his and everybody else’s actions. Right from the start, the great big West Bank Wall obstructs his freedom of passage from the place he lives to where his girlfriend goes to school. Later in the film, as the pressure mounts on Omar, he struggles to actually climb the wall – showing the extra limits on the already limited freedom he already had. This wall, and Omar’s relation to it, symbolise the oppression of Omar and the Palestinian people.
Another thing to watch out for are the billboards and messages that appear in the background of some of the scenes. One of the billboards has a happy looking commercial for something or other with the words ‘Planting Hope’. Other billboards carry similar positive messages which the director has planted in the background to dramatically contrast with the oppressed Palestinians. The Israeli billboards mark the difference between what the Israelis can do and what the Palestinians cannot. Just like the Wall, they are symbols of the lack of freedom for the Palestinian people.
This is an important film for everyone to watch – plus it’s available on Netflix. So, what are you waiting for? Watch this one now!
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