Mahmoud Bakri as Chatila (left) and Aram Sabbah as Reda in Mahdi Fleifel’s “To a Land Unknown,” which makes its Columbus debut at Gateway Film Center Friday. Credit: Courtesy of Isabel Hoffman
“To a Land Unknown,” directed by Mahdi Fleifel (“A World Not Ours”), will make its Columbus premiere at Gateway Film Center Friday at 6:30 p.m. The opening scene of the film displays a quote from Edward Said, a well-known Palestinian American academic: “In a way, it’s sort of the fate for Palestinians not to end up where they started, but somewhere unexpected and far away.”
Cut to Athens, Greece, where we meet our main characters — cousins Chatila (Mahmoud Bakri) and Reda (Aram Sabbah), two Palestinian refugees. After fleeing a camp in Lebanon in search of a better life, the two have found themselves in Athens, a layover on their journey to Germany, where Chatila dreams of opening a café in a small, Arab-friendly neighborhood. His wife Nabila will cook — she’s an excellent chef, he says — and Reda will man the bar.
Their journey is not an easy one. The men must make enough money to purchase fake passports from an established smuggler in Athens, Marwan. However, with no identification or source of income — and Reda’s crippling drug addiction — the two find themselves struggling to get by, resorting to extreme measures to escape.
Reda is quickly established as a fragile, sensitive man. His solemn, droopy face resembles that of a puppy — eyes wide, pleading. Pair these characteristics with his addiction and you have a truly complex character. When Reda steals the passport money he and Chatila have been saving up — by committing petty crimes, such as snatching purses — for drugs, it unravels a new, unseen side of him.
The sadness behind his eyes turns to pure desperation. You can tell he wants to quit, to get sober, and yet he doesn’t.
In a fallout between the two, we find that Chatila went to Athens for Reda, leaving his wife and children. His reasoning — he was worried Reda would kill himself. Chatila kicks Reda out until he repays the money he took.
“I need a place to sleep, so I don’t do more drugs,” Reda says. “I can’t be on the streets.”
Chatila is hardened. He’s a strong, smart man who is determined to pursue his dream and start a new life away from the refugee camp. Their reasoning for Germany is largely unexplained — I do wish the film went more into depth about that choice.
Malik (Mohammad Alsurafa), a 13-year-old boy from Gaza, enters early on in the film. He’s looking for shelter after unexpectedly landing in Athens on his way to Italy. He brings out a soft side in both men. Chatila sends him elsewhere before giving in, offering to help him get to his family in Italy. Furthermore, the only times in the film where Reda actually seemed happy were with Malik.
A scenic still from “To a Land Unknown,” screening at Gateway Film Center Friday at 6:30 p.m. Credit: Courtesy of Isabel Hoffman
There is such a raw, natural feel to the film. Bakri and Sabbah are incredibly talented — I was shocked to read in a press release that Sabbah has never acted before — and bring this authenticity to the film that others often lack. It cuts straight through your heart. At times, it felt as though you were there — especially in the scenes of Reda skateboarding. The camera following from behind was mesmerizing, in a way.
Palestinians have been pushed into exile for decades. In 1948, the Arab-Israeli War displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians as Zionist forces destroyed their villages and killed civilians. The Six-Day War in 1967 added to the already large refugee population. Now, this film comes at a time in which Palestine is again under attack, with thousands of Palestinians being forced out of their homeland and killed.
I find that people often have a hard time understanding things that they have never personally experienced. This film drops you right into the shoes of people who have experienced exile, paving a way for viewers to understand and empathize with refugees — Palestinian or not.
“It’ll pass” was a common phrase throughout the film. Over and over again we hear this, no matter the situation — “It’ll pass.” The phrase itself is a double-edged sword. There is hope behind it; the hope that things will get better with time — the only way out is through.
Yet, there is such a deep-rooted sadness behind the words — a need for things to get better. A phrase that lacks confidence but strives to reassure.
We watch as their desperation grows in intensity, increasingly committing worse and worse crimes, grasping for the money to get them out of Athens and on track to Germany. But as desperation grows, so does hopelessness. In Reda specifically, we watch as he slowly loses his way. He’s not a hardened criminal, but he’s in a situation that necessitates him to sacrifice his morality to survive. Chatila is the same. Throughout the film, as their crimes become more elaborate and serious, we hear Chatila pose the ultimate question — “What do we have to lose anyway?”
The final few moments of the film are cold. It’s quiet. You’ve seen the two cousins change throughout their time in Athens, the things they go through. Then, it ends, and you’re left with this indescribable feeling.
“To a Land Unknown” is a must-see film. It’s a fictional story that strikes a chord with reality. To me, these events unfolded on a TV screen. For others, this is their daily life. It’s raw and real; it’s human.
For information on the premiere screening of “To a Land Unknown” at Gateway Film Center and to purchase tickets, visit the center’s website.
