Addressing Arab/Israeli relations on an intimately personal scale, The Attack—based on Yasmina Khadra's bestselling novel—opens in a Tel Aviv hospital where Amin Jaafari (Ali Suliman), a Palestinian fully assimilated into Tel Aviv society, works as a highly respected surgeon. Someone has detonated a suicide bomb nearby, but Amin has no idea that his beautiful wife, Siham (Reymond Amsellem), was the bomber until Israeli police inform him of this terrible truth. At first he can't accept it (especially when he's interrogated as a possible accomplice), and later begins to investigate the bombing, which killed 19 people (including, of course, his wife). Amin digs deeper for the truth, eventually uncovering the identities of the Palestinian zealots who recruited Siham to be a terrorist. This present-day mystery unfolds alongside flashbacks in which we gradually learn more about Amin and Siham's marriage, which was seemingly ideal (especially as Amin's professional stature increased), although Amin is now plagued by doubt and uncertainty, forced into a reassessment of the woman he never really knew. Sad, subtle, and gripping from start to finish, this first-rate study of love and loss in a tragic situation is highly recommended. (J. Shannon)
The Attack
Cohen, 95 min., in Arabic & Hebrew w/English subtitles, R, DVD: $24.98, Blu-ray: $34.98 Volume 29, Issue 1
The Attack
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