Love During Wartime

In a latter-day Romeo-and-Juliet conundrum, the star-crossed leads of this true love story from filmmaker Gabriella Bier are an Israeli woman, Jasmin, and a Palestinian man, Osama, nicknamed Assi. Married since 2004 and wild about each other, they still mostly live apart as the narrative opens—citizenship laws restrict Assi from dwelling with his wife in Israel and prevent Jasmin from joining her husband in Ramallah, in the newly created Palestinian Authority territory. Told primarily through their own (subtitled) narration with contributions from family members, the documentary briefly sketches their courtship and wedding (which happened during a peak in the intifada, says Assi's brother, contributing to the Arab in-laws' outrage; Jasmin's parents, meanwhile, accept their daughter's husband). Ultimately, they must leave the Middle East altogether to cohabitate in Germany; but Europe, too, carries on in terrorism-lockdown mode, and Assi's visa does not permit him to hold a job or remain indefinitely, which makes him depressed and angry. Both halves of this remarkable, beleaguered couple work in the arts (Assi as a sculptor; Jasmin, a dancer), and neither is religious or especially nationalistic. While their story may not reflect that of the majority of those suffering in and around the occupied territories and Jerusalem—who face checkpoints, arrests, bullying, and suicide-bombers—it still brings into focus the innocent victims of the continuous crisis. An emotional jewel of a film, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)