It’s not often one gets an insider’s perspective on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and even less often that it offers a Palestinian point of view. But director Osit's film takes a fly-on-the-wall look at the everyday inner workings of civic governance in Ramallah through the eyes of this pivotal municipality’s mayor, Musa Hadid. It’s not long before we get a sense of Hadid’s priorities as mayor: end the Israeli occupation through careful branding and messaging. We see Hadid involved in deep discussions with his staff on how to craft the image of the important West Bank city of Ramallah, the seat of Palestinian Authority, to the rest of the world and do it in a way that seems safe—and even Westernized—in order to garner sympathy from the West in their plight under military occupation by Israel. (One of his pet image-conscious events is the huge Christmas celebration and parade held in the city center every year, even though Christians are a minority there.)
But the real test for Hadid and the people of Ramallah comes when they have to confront the local social unrest caused by US President Donald Trump’s controversial announcement that Jerusalem, territory claimed by both Palestinians and Israelis, will be recognized as Israel’s capital, and the US Embassy would now relocate to territory where Palestinians are not even allowed to travel to. Unfortunately we witness how correct predictions were about the fallout Trump’s Jerusalem decision: social unrest follows soon after. There are mass Palestinian protests, the knee-jerk Israeli overreaction, and thus sordid grim reality of the occupation begins to play out in front of Osit’s camera (and perilously close to the mayor himself) in the form of random tear-gassing of Palestinian civilians by Israeli soldiers.
Meanwhile, despite these occasional occupational hazards, we see Hadid continue to lobby Western nations, including Germany, Britain, United States, and others on Palestine’s behalf, trying (often unsuccessfully) to drum up support for the liberation of his people. Although Hadid is shown as taking his job very seriously, he’s not without the ability to confront his city’s difficult political situation with a dose of gallows humor. Osit’s decision to employ the classic observational documentary style suits the events in Mayor perfectly: it brings a certain sense of unbiased objectivity to his subject matter, which is especially important for a documentary about a conflict driven by extreme emotions and entrenched political biases. Recommended. Aud: C, P.