Saz: The Palestinian Rapper for Change

Filmmaker Gil Karni's Saz tries to personalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by presenting a year-long portrait of a young Palestinian from the ghetto of Ramlah who grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, but now acutely feels the oppression of the occupation, expressing his anger through his music, which he hopes will help both sides understand each other. Viewers watch as Sameh Zakout—Saz is his stage name—composes songs, performs before homeland crowds, and then travels to clubs in Europe as his career shows signs of taking off internationally. Although Saz's mixture of suppressed rage and subdued hope in his music is inspiring, what's most touching here is the young man's relationship with his father and grandfather (the film is especially poignant when the grandfather reminisces about the Palestinians' expulsion from their land during the 1948 war and bickers with Sameh about pursuing a musical career, urging him to get a real job instead; the scene of the two reuniting after the activist rapper has made initial contacts within the music industry boasts quiet power). DVD extras include the lyrics of two of Saz's songs, along with printed translations, and a downloadable study guide. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)