Omar is an Arabic foreign language film set in Palestine which follows the story of a young freedom fighter.
The film acts as a real insightful view into how life is like in Palestine under Israeli occupation.
Omar is a story which involves many themes including war, love, loyalty, family and survival.
The film's intricate storyline led to success in the form of Omar receiving a short lived period of international fame back in 2013 with an Oscar nomination.
Synopsis
Omar lives a life much like many Arabs living across the separation wall.
He has close ties with family, friends and neighbours. Being raised in such a conflict ridden area governed by Israeli armed forces is a life of mistreatment. The character Omar is no different and eventually he and his childhood friends train to become marksmen of their own.
One night when an Israeli soldier is shot and killed everything changes. They are hunted after by soldiers, the following day Omar is caught and brutally tortured by Israeli forces. He is told that he will face a 90 year sentence unless he becomes an informant.
Faced with an impossible decision, the rest of the film follows Omar as he makes vital decisions that put him and his close ones at risk.
Important Themes
It is easy to see just how loaded of a film Omar is. Israeli-Palestinian relations are as hostile as they come.
The occupation of Palestine has existed since 1948, in which Palestinians have been subjugated to decades of unjust violence, humiliation, abuse and Israeli led killings.
Statistics show that over 7,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, while 0 Israelis are held in Palestine.
Since September 2000 at least 2,146 Palestinian children and 134 Israeli children have been killed.
From the 19th of January 2009 to the 30th of September 2016 a total of 3,035 Palestinians have been killed by Israelis contrasting with 96 Israelis being killed by Palestinians.
Omar is a film which touches on these inequalities, dishonest Israeli militant practices and brings to light just how tough it is to live in the West Bank of the region as Muslim.
Conclusion
As political as the nature of the occupation of Palestine is, many forget about the people who are directly affected by the violence.
Looking past race and religion, there are people who are dying every single day on Palestinian streets.
Omar shows just how powerful film can be and how it can be used to tell the stories of those living through hardship.
All in all, Omar is a film that you can't miss.
It packs a dose of reality and dives into perceptions of inequality through a story of love, struggle and survival in a foreboding, conflict-rich setting.
