A Borrowed Identity - (2014)


A Borrowed Identity Film Review

A Borrowed Identity is an Arabic-Hebrew foreign language film set in Palestine.

The film deals with the difference between Arabs and Jews in the contested region.

A Borrowed Identity focuses on the differences between Muslim-Palestinian and Jewish-Israeli families in the country, spotlighting the day and night differences between how youth are treated by the Israeli system.


Synopsis


A Borrowed Identity follows the story of a young, talented Arab boy named Eyad from Palestine. His family doesn't have much but they dream of Eyad's future.

As a smart and talented boy Eyad gets accepted into a prestigious boarding school in Jerusalem. As an Arab at a school for the privileged, Eyad faces many difficulties and is forced to learn xenophobic Israeli material.

The majority of the film is about Eyad struggling with virtues of religion, culture, identity and language. While also trying to balance his educational, social and conflicting family lives.


Important Themes


A Borrowed Identity does a good job speaking about the drastic differences and opportunities Muslim youth have in comparison to their Jewish counterparts in the region.

It packs a real dosage of reality and focuses on the underlying racism in schools, companies and government. All of which have Israeli policies that favour Jewish-Israeli citizens.

Demographically 75% of the Israeli population is Jewish and 17% is Muslim, making Muslims the largest minority group in the country.

A Pew Research Centre study found that 79% of Arabs believe that there is heavy discrimination in Israeli society against Muslims, where an equal amount of Jews refute such claims.

Additionally, 40% of Israeli Jews say their own government is not making a sincere effort toward peace. Even Israeli President Rivlin can be quoted saying: 

"Until now, Israel’s greatest challenge has been security. But now the prevention of racism and hatred has become one of the most acute and strategic problems of Israel."

A New York Times article quotes a Palestinian father saying, 

"I teach my son about Palestinian history at home, because important parts of the Palestinian history have been removed from the Israeli curriculum."

With regards to Arab-Jewish relations, a survey by the Geocartography Institute found that the marriage of a Jewish woman to an Arab man is equal to national treason. And that over 75% of participants do not approve of apartment buildings being shared between Arabs and Jews. 60% of participants also said they would not allow an Arab to visit their home.

When asked asked how they felt when they overheard someone speaking Arabic, 31% of participants responded saying they felt hatred, while 50% said they felt fear. And when asked what they thought of Arab culture, over 37% replied, “The Arab culture is inferior.

Altogether tensions in the Palestinian-Israeli region is nothing new, conflicts are still ongoing more than ever.

One may look at statistics and claim that outright physical crimes have reduced. But more and more harm to Arabs are being done by unfair and racist public policy, unfair government programs and flawed entities like the Israel educational system.

A Borrowed Identity does well to portray this change, focusing on the character, Eyad.


Conclusion


The real success of the film in my eyes is how they were able to portray Arab-Jewish friendships/relationships.

Even though all relationships are based on similarities, experiences and trust, the relationships Eyad holds lack trust.

This lack of trust is comparable to the lack of trust the vast majority of Palestinians have towards the Israeli government.

If you are looking for a film about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict I would recommend A Borrowed Identity.

It does a great job of detailing the issues modern day Palestinians have fitting into an ill-designed, discriminatory system.

Ali Tamachi

Alik is a marketer and writer who creates compelling "chef's kiss" worthy marketing and advertising collateral. Outside of his professional setting he is a big film nerd, loves reading, running and doing digital art. Feel free to follow him on his journey from the links below.

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