by Kiva Reardon

Unlike some multiple-narrative melodramas, such as Bable or Amores perros, with plots that sometimes feel like a series of forced coincidences set in motion to one up the last, Ajami never feels contrived. Stories from the Arab neighbourhood of Ajami, to Tel Aviv’s suburbs, to Nablus are seamless interwoven, and watching Ajami you sense the daily tension of many peoples living in desperate proximity. Ajami’s form, a cinema verité style with hand held camera, tight shots and quick cuts, creates this feeling of claustrophobia.

The boldest political statement is the film’s structure, which runs its course to its violent conclusion only to start again. The second telling, however, includes nuances the audience had not been aware of, leaving us with a new, though not definite, understanding of the ending. Importantly, the film does not offer closure highlighting the current impact of the regional trauma of partition. Ajami, like the current situation, is not linear and nor easily recapped but merits, if not demands, our attention.