An absolutely charming film, James' Journey to Jerusalem finds James (Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe)--an idealistic young Christian from Africa--traveling to the Holy Land on pilgrimage, only to have an immigration officer wrongly assume that he plans on remaining in Israel as an undocumented worker. Jailed, pending deportation, James is rescued by a small-time Israeli operator who specializes in providing cheap day labor, and though he reluctantly becomes part of his crew, James' dedication and honesty quickly turn him into a trusted aide not only to his boss, but also to the man's cantankerous father. James also learns--from his employer's example--how to massage the system to his advantage, and before long he's started a little side business of his own, though without ever abandoning his basic principles. Director Ra'anan Alexandrowicz's film could have been an angry screed about the materialism of contemporary Israeli society and the mistreatment of illegal workers, but while the script deals with those issues, it does so gingerly, preferring gentle humor to sharp satire or didactic melodrama, and the picture is helped enormously by a wonderfully poised performance from Shibe as the naïvely optimistic and eternally good-natured James. An excellent companion film to Alexandrowicz's The Inner Tour (on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; also newly available from Zeitgeist on DVD for $29.99), this is highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a music video of the African-based song that opens the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a small but sweet film.]. (F. Swietek)
James' Journey to Jerusalem
Zeitgeist, 87 min., in Hebrew, English & Zulu w/English subtitles, not rated, VHS or DVD: $29.99 Volume 19, Issue 6
James' Journey to Jerusalem
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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