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Ajami

Play trailer Poster for Ajami 2010 2h 0m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 68 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A revenge killing has a ripple effect in a multi-ethnic neighborhood in Tel Aviv.
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Ajami

Ajami

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Critics Consensus

This multi-character drama balances intimate portrayals and broad political implications to paint a bracing and moving portrait of the Middle East conflict.

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Critics Reviews

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Deborah Ross The Spectator 08/30/2018
Ajami is not pretty and it's not heart-warming - the threat of violence is always looming - but it is emotionally gripping, and it puts you right in its midst. Go to Full Review
Ed Koch The Atlantic 01/13/2018
What comes through is that the troubles besetting Muslims and Jews and their emotional responses are similar in nature. The people involved have so much in common. Go to Full Review
Chris Chang Film Comment Magazine 09/24/2014
Its sense of ambiance, most apparent during scenes of simple conversation between characters, more than compensates for the cinematic overdetermination. Go to Full Review
Joanne Laurier World Socialist Web Site 03/04/2021
Ajami is a complex, deep-going work. The performers are all non-professionals, and, as the directors explain, come from tough backgrounds. Go to Full Review
John Powers NPR's Fresh Air 05/17/2018
It's a dark, unsparing vision, yet what makes watching bearable, even pleasurable, is Copti and Shani's humane intelligence. Go to Full Review
Enrique Buchichio Uruguay Total 06/02/2011
4/5
Una contundente pera prima, narrada en forma fragmentaria a la manera de Amores Perros o Crash, que retrata con brutal honestidad la vida en un conflictivo vecindario de Jaffa. Estupendo elenco de actores no profesionales. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Dave S 03/08/2023 Ajami is a film that refuses to take sides or pass judgement of any kind. Set in Jaffna, Israel, the movie documents the difficulty of day-to-day life in a society that turns its back on the concept of acceptance. Told through the lens of numerous characters and in a non-chronological sequence, it is one of those rare movies that improves through subsequent viewings, allowing the audience to better understand the relationships and the storyline the second time around. Shot with handheld cameras and a non-professional cast, Ajami almost has the feel of a documentary, making the sudden bursts of violence all the more jarring. Sadly, and this is most certainly one of the points of the movie, one has to wonder if Muslims, Jews, and Christians will ever be able to peacefully co-exist in this region of the world. See more 07/27/2017 Ajami is a collaboration of Palestinian Scandar Copti and Israeli Yaron Shani to tell a very complex tale, through five chapters, of an Arab-Israeli family with incredibly bad luck dealing with a protection racket, drug dealers, and the Israeli police. The film presents a realistic and compelling view of the underside of Jaffa, but the non-linear progression of the plot is more tedious than revealing, and in the end the film goes nowhere but to depress. See more 07/17/2016 Chilling, realistic and terrifically promising rare crime thriller showing the rippling effect of middle eastern conflict from both Jewish n Arabic perspective. The 2 directors of this Oscar nominated movie, one being a Palestinian and other a Israeli Jewish has bravely constructed a convoluted nonlinear plot finishing to a spectacular climax. See more 10/13/2014 Loved that this was a film about Israel Palestine, but was nothing about the political situation. All 3 religions living, working and loving together........showing the very strong family connections and obligations that there are in that part of the world. That is at least something that the West could try to learn from See more @AlexMVP 05/03/2014 What a powerful film!!! Impressive collaborative effort from a Palestinian and Israeli weaving the fabric of a seemingly complex story made fairly simple by showing the connective fibers of human decision and circumstances across ethnic, religious and physical boundaries. Even going back and forth in time like a Tarantino film it was still easy to follow, as the past leading to the fateful end unfolded in gripping detail. This film really has the power to open a heart-wrenching window into the everyday struggles of the people in the part of the world that we often hear about in sound bytes on the news. Great storytelling!!! See more 05/01/2014 Harrowing but excellent. The ending leaves you reeling. Real performances, and gives you insights into what it's like in this Muslim/Christian/Jewish neighbourhood of Israel. See more Read all reviews
Ajami

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Movie Info

Synopsis A revenge killing has a ripple effect in a multi-ethnic neighborhood in Tel Aviv.
Director
Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani
Producer
Moshe Danon, Thanassis Karathanos
Screenwriter
Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani
Distributor
Kino International
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Arabic
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 3, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 25, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$621.2K
Runtime
2h 0m
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