Alata (Out in the Dark) - Έξω στο σκοτάδι

Alata (Out in the Dark) by Michael Mayer - 53rd Thessaloniki International Film Festival (Review)

This is the story of two young men, Nimer, a Palestinian Psychology student and Roy, a lawyer who fall in love and try to defy their countries' animosity and hatred. Of course, the terrible relations between Palestine and Israel are known to most people; however this is a completely different aspect of the matter.

The couple faces two major obstacles: one being the mere fact that they're gay and their nationality being the other. Despite hardships and public humiliation of homosexual people in both countries, they engage in a relationship and begin to seek ways allowing them to be together and safe. Everything is compromised when a Palestian friend of the two men, who illegally lives in Israel, is arrested by local police and sent back home where he is attacked and brutally murdered at his village. 

It is now Nimer's turn; Israeli police are willing to let him stay in the country and keep his "guilty" secret (of being gay) if he accepts to work for them by being their informant. In other words, they ask him to betray his family, friends and country. When he naturally says "no", he comes to realise that his student visa has been revoked and he has no right or authorisation to stay in Israel any longer. What is more, his secret is now revealed; his brother kicks him out of the house and the Israeli police are looking for him as he is considered a threat to national security. Roy sacrifices his career so that Nimer can have a chance of getting out of the situation alive and the couple promises to meet in France.

The end of the movie is rather ambiguous; I guess it depends on your personal view. Being a pessimist myself, I think that they are probably never going to meet again.

Even though the story of a gay couple being in great danger has been told before, it never seizes to be an ispiration to people who might see something new in the film.

Direction and script were very interesting. In a few words: Sentiment, humour, agony, injustice.

7,7 στα 11 Φισεράκια