Laila's Birthday

Welcome to Ramallah—capital of the Palestine National Authority—a city in a state of perpetual chaos. Director Rashid Masharawi's comic drama sketches one day in the life of a bustling urban center under occupation and at times under fire, as seen through the eyes of Abu Laila (Mohammed Bakri), a judge who is reduced to driving a cab to make ends meet. Although the government is in disarray and Ramallah itself is just as unsettled, the tightly wound jurist is polite but insistent when it comes to the law and frustrated that none of his passengers seem all that concerned about rules, whether regarding seatbelts or automatic weapons. Refreshingly, Masharawi avoids pedantic political arguments and social debates, instead creating a mosaic from snapshots of the lives of Abu Laila's passengers, while also letting surreal surrounding events speak for themselves: a government office too busy with redecorating to actually govern; a donkey, crazed after being blown into the air in a bombing; a cop who pulls the taxi over, sirens whirring, simply to make an offer on the vehicle. Meanwhile, Laila's efforts to pick up a birthday cake and a present for his seven-year-old daughter are frustrated at every turn. Laila's Birthday is a portrait in exasperation, yet the tone is always affectionate, using satire to confront serious concerns with a gentle touch, and it ends on a hopeful note. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)