Omar

Omar is the fifth and last of the Best Foreign Language nominees from 2013 I've seen, and it may be the best. It was an entry from Palestine, the country without a homeland, and showcases the nature of their struggle, this time in the occupied West Bank.

Omar, our hero, is a baker who, along with two others, plan to strike back against their Israeli occupiers. Omar lives in a section of town separate from his comrade, Tarek, and Tarek's sister, Nadia, whom Omar is in love. He must climb about a fifty-foot wall to see them, and while he usually does this without incident he is occasionally shot at or detained and abused by Israeli soldiers.

Tarek and another man, Amjad, who is a bit of a comedian (he does a killer Brando impersonation) have plotted to kill a soldier. They do so, but have been betrayed, as they are fingered and chased through the streets. Omar is captured, and an Israeli agent offers him immunity if he'll help him. Omar takes the deal, but is working as a double agent, as he and his friends plan an ambush. But that goes awry, and Omar realizes that the traitor is one of the three of them.

Directed by Hany Abu-Assad, Omar is a genuine white-knuckler, using the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as its political context. Some of the scenes are extremely well done, such as those with Omar racing through the streets, one step ahead of his pursuers. There's a twist at the end involving incontrovertible math about a baby being born that I didn't quite get, leading to a shock ending that left me a little unsatisfied, but perhaps some one out there can explain it to me.

The actors are good, with Adam Bakri as Omar, Waleed Zuaiter as the Israeli agent, and Leem Lubany, lovely and winsome as Nadia.

If I had a vote, I would have been torn between Omar and The Great Beauty, and probably come down on Omar, as it was more consistently excellent. It was a good year for nominees, though, as all five had some level of excellence.