Hany Abu-Assad’s “Omar” is an action-packed thriller that captures life, danger, risk and one man’s determination thanks to love. Featuring a brilliant performance by Adam Bakri and gorgeous cinematography by Ehab Assal, this award winning film is highly recommended!
TITLE: Omar
FILM RELEASE: 2013
DURATION: 98 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 2:35:1 Aspect Ratio, Arabic Dolby Digital 2.0, English Subtitles
COMPANY: Adopt Films
RATED: Not Rated
Release Date: June 10, 2014
Written and Directed by Hany Abu-Assad
Produced by Hany Abu-Assad, David Gerson, Waleed Zuaiter
Executive Producer: Waleed Al-Ghafari, Zahi Khouri, Suhail A. Skihtian, Abbas F. Eddy Zuaiter, Ahmad F. Zuaiter, Farouq A. Zuaiter
Cinematography by Ehab Assal
Edited by Martin Brinkler, Eyas Salman
Casting by Juna Suleiman
Production Design by Yoel Herzberg, Nael Kanj
Costume Design by Hamada Atallah
Starring:
Adam Bakri as Omar
Leem Lubany as Nadia
Samer Bisharat as Amjad
Iyad Hoorani as Tarek
Waleed Zuaiter as Agent Rami
Omar is a tense, gripping thriller about betrayal, suspected and real, in the Occupied Territories. Omar (Adam Bakri) is a Palestinian baker who routinely climbs over the separation wall to meet up with his girl Nadja (Leem Lubany). By night, he’s ready to risk his life to strike at the Israeli military with his childhood friends Tarek (Eyad Hourani) and Amjad (Samer Bisharat). Arrested after the killing of an Israeli soldier and tricked into an admission of guilt by association, he agrees to work as an informant. So begins a dangerous game-is he playing his Israeli handler (Waleed F. Zuaiter), or will he really betray his cause? And who can he trust on either side? Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now) has made a dynamic, action-packed drama about the insoluble moral dilemmas and tough choices facing those on the frontlines of a conflict that shows no sign of letting up.
From filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad (“The Courier”, “Paradise Now”, “Rana’s Wedding”) comes his Cannes Film Festival award winning film, “Omar”.
Starring Adam Bakri, Leem Lubany, Samer Bisharat and Iyad Hoorani, the film was selected as a Palestinian entry for “Best Foreign Language Film” at the 86th Academy Awards and would be screened at the United Nations in New York in May 2014.
Shot with a budget of $2 million and written in four days, “Omar” has captivated film critics worldwide and now “Omar” will be released on Blu-ray courtesy of Adopt Films.
The film revolves around a young adult named Omar (portrayed by Adam Bakri), who works during the day as a baker and often climbing a wall in harm’s way from Israel to Palestine.
And as Omar is always there to meetup with his friends Tarek (portrayed by Iyad Hoorani) and Amjad (portrayed by Samer Bisharat) to discuss their disgust of being held back by the Israelis and working with a group to fight against them.
But as Omar is dedicated in the fight, his motivation of climbing the wall is to be with Tarek’s sister Nadia (portrayed by Leem Lubany), as the two are secretly seeing each other behind the back of Tarek and have kept their closeness as a secret, especially as Amjad is also in love with Nadia.
One day, Omar and his friends plan to shoot down Israeli soldiers and Amjad shoots one of them down and the three escape.
But as the three go to a restaurant and Omar is trying to get himself ready to tell Tarek that he loves his sister and wants to marry her, Israeli authorities show up and as the three try to escape, Omar is caught and tortured because he is not willing to give up the name of who was responsible for shooting down an Israeli soldier.
As Omar is imprisoned, once Omar is able to go outside from his cell, he meets an older man who tries to tell him not to confess and that the Israeli’s would use his comments against him. And Omar tells the man that he won’t confess.
Omar is taken to meet with an Agent Rami (portrayed by Waleed Zuaiter), Omar realizes that the agent is actually the old man and that he has been setup in acknowledging his guilt. And in order to prevent himself from serving many years in prison, desperately wanting to see Nadia, Tarek and Agent Raimi make a deal that he would try to lead them to Tarek.
But as Omar is given the chance of freedom, will he choose to help his friends from the Israeli authorities? Or will he work against his good friends in order to secure a future with Nadia?
VIDEO:
“Omar” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:39:1 aspect ratio). Picture quality is fantastic as skin tones are natural, close-ups are well-detailed, locations are well-shot and colors are vibrant. I didn’t notice any major banding or artifacts during my viewing of the film.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Omar” is presented in Arabic with English subtitles and Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0. I was amazed that the soundtrack did not have a 5.1 lossless track but there are moments of action, from bullets flying in air, bomb blasts that sound good but you wished that the audio had a more immersive soundtrack. But lossless audio is crystal clear.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Omar” comes with no special features.
“Omar” is a magnificent film that literally thrills you with its action, plot featuring various twists and turns but also its unpredictability.
Right off the bat, as we watch Omar climbing the dividing wall between Israel and Palestine, you just feel that something bad is going to happen in this film and the earlier scene with Omar climbing a steep wall as soldiers fire at him, it gives you the sense of danger but how heartbreaking it is to know that people are separated and that this tension between countries has been ongoing for decades and centuries with no sign of either side willing to fix it.
“Omar” makes you feel that this younger man has a lot to live for but as soon as he is caught and forced to make decisions of helping his friends or helping the enemy in order for him to keep out of prison or worse, being kept away from the girl he has loved, Omar seems that he is ready to make the sacrifices in order to be with Nadia.
And without spoiling the film, you can’t help but see the various plot twists of whether or not he will save his friends or work against them for the sake of his future.
Actor Adam Bakri did a phenomenal job as Omar. You literally see Bakri put into various emotional states to play the character. From strong and carefree to being a loving guy who wants to provide for Nadia and then we see him as this broken and tortured individual who wants to be free for Nadia.
But of course, filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad is never a director who gives you something simplistic. His films have their fair share of surprises but his latest film “Omar” really delves down to the disparity of the human soul. Where one’s drive to live is because of the one person he truly loves. But instead of going a banal route, one can expect to see the conundrum develop overtime and wondering how Omar will respond to the situation and where his loyalties lie.
As for the Blu-ray, while picture quality is very good, audio is primarily Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 and there are no special features. So, I was disappointed that more was not added to this Blu-ray release but considering this was a low-budget film which received critical acclaim, I’ll give “Omar” the benefit of the doubt because I enjoyed this film immensely.
Overall, Hany Abu-Assad’s “Omar” is an action-packed thriller that captures life, danger, risk and one man’s determination thanks to love. Featuring a brilliant performance by Adam Bakri and gorgeous cinematography by Ehab Assal, this award winning film is highly recommended!
