Amos Gitai opens his newest feature with a daring directorial choice: one impossibly long close-up watching the gorgeous American actress Natalie Portman stare out of a car window in rainy Jerusalem, sobbing uncontrollably.
Thus begins the journey of Rebecca, who, after ditching her fianc� and his family in Israel, finds solace with the tough, pragmatic Hanna (Hanna Laslo, Alila, SFJFF 2004), a Russian-Israeli limo driver. To escape her sorrow, Rebecca is willing to ride along anywhere with Hanna, who is headed for the "free zone"--a place in Jordan where goods and money are exchanged tax-free regardless of nationality or religion--to claim money owed in her husband�s questionable dealings. Hanna is not sure she wants a passenger-- particularly a distressed young American woman--since she has never ventured this far into Jordan before (and neither has director Gitai, the first high-profile Israeli to get official permission to shoot there). But their road trip begins, as they cross borders and terrains, both political and psychological. Once on the other side, where they are supposed to pick up the money from a mysterious "American," they are intercepted by Leila (the stunning Hiam Abbas, who recently starred in Munich, Paradise Now and The Syrian Bride), a shrewd but thoughtful Palestinian businesswoman.
The three women form an inextricable bond despite vast cultural and political differences. Gitai has created a brilliant, nuanced drama with strong female protagonists each seeking meaning in their complex social realities. It is a journey fraught with risk, faith and the desire for personal and political self determination.
Belgium, France, Israel, Spain. Hebrew, Arabic, English, Spanish.