BeSummers
Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.
Roman Sampson
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
Francene Odetta
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
Sonofamoviegeek
This movie has many good points and one obvious flaw. The good points are its production, acting and story. Dancing Arabs captures perfectly the Israel of each time it portrays and the two solitudes that Jews and Arabs live in. Israeli Arabs and Jews may have lived in the same land for 50 years (the years portrayed) but still don't trust or even respect each other. Today, the situation is even worse. That is the main message of the movie and the message comes across well and relatively unbiased.The flaw that keeps it from receiving a higher rating from me is the ending. It's fair enough that Eyad tries to escape the discrimination that Israeli Arabs suffer by taking the identity of his Jewish friend, Yonatan who dies from ALS. It's clever enough to "kill" Eyad by burying Yonatan as Eyad the Arab. Edna, Yonatan's mother goes along with this in her grief to have a son. The book must have some other tricks to make the deception work because people don't die in Israel without an official death certificate being registered. With Yonatan officially dead on state computers, Eyad would be caught sometime down the road when he tried to transact some kind of official business.My bet is that he would be caught on his way out of Israel to resume his German studies by the army's computer checking to see if he had done his National Service. The real Yonatan would have had an exemption because of his disability yet there he would be walking around ben Gurion Airport with a knapsack. This would not compute. I need to read the book to see how the author got around that one.
kolnoaMograbi
Wow. Not only is the script a seamless combination of Sayed Kashua's two novels (Second Person Singular and Dancing Arabs), but it's seamless in its own right. Eyad is such a sensitive character, as is Edna; both elicit our sympathy without our pity -- especially when Eyad "goes entrepreneurial" at school, capitalizing on his ability to straddle two worlds.I also liked the acerbic wink at coexistence efforts. Riklis nailed it.Great acting and camera work, excellent subtitling. The use of the word "previous" to illustrate Eyad's grappling with his Arab accent was spot on. I'm also gratified by the English title; "Borrowed Identity" expresses the plot line so much better than does "Dancing Arabs". Regarding the latter, I take issue with other reviewers who read symbolism into the title; in my view, it refers quite literally to Eyad's family dancing on the roof during the Scud attacks, a known occurrence. The fact that he declines to join them says it all.The relationship between Eyad and Yonatan was also done beautifully, showing how when dealing with severe disability, identities like "Jew" and "Arab" are dwarfed by more immediate, human concerns. The film did an excellent job of showing this. Highly recommended.
Red-125
The Israeli film "Dancing Arabs" was shown in the U.S. as "A Borrowed Identity." It was directed by Eran Riklis. The movie stars Tawfeek Barhom as Eyad, a Palestinian boy who is an Israeli citizen. Although his plight isn't as bad as a non-Israeli Palestinian, he is nonetheless a second-class citizen. (Palestinian citizens work in restaurants as dishwashers. Jewish citizens work as waiters.)Despite being Palestinian, Eyad is allowed to attend a prestigious Israeli boarding school. Naturally, he's the target of racial slurs, but he isn't physically injured, and he moves forward toward adulthood. As part of a class assignment, he meets Jonathan (Michael Moshonov), a young man who has progressive muscular dystrophy. He also meets an Israeli girl, Naomi, played by Daniel (Danielle) Kitsis. Naomi is intelligent and loving, but the question is whether their relationship has a future, because of their cultural and religious differences.The plot moves in unexpected directions, and the movie is emotionally powerful and gripping. The acting is excellent, and I think the plot represents a balanced picture of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, as it plays out among individuals.We saw this movie at the Little Theatre in Rochester, as part of the highly successful Rochester International Jewish Film Festival. The film will work well on the small screen.
FilmCriticLalitRao
Director Eran Riklis is a filmmaker with great responsibilities on his shoulders. Although Arabs citizens are a minority in Israel, no special treatment is reserved for them. This aspect of Israeli society, its rules and regulations have been depicted by him in this film. It revolves around a young boy who has to make personal sacrifices in order to be accepted in Israeli society. It is no surprise that his life undergoes major upheavals when he is accepted with some reticence, reservations in a prestigious boarding school in Jerusalem. It is not a generalization when it is said that anybody can face issues related to culture, identity and language. If watched from this perspective, 'Dancing Arabs' is neither 100% pro Arab nor 100% anti Israel. "What does it mean to be an Arab in Israel ?" This key questions emanates from this film. 'Dancing Arabs' was the opening film during 19th International Film Festival of Kerala. Its lead actor Tawfik Barhom was the darling of the local media in Kerala state of India for more than a week. Before him, no other actor from Israeli cinema managed to become so popular.
