Noam (Ohan Knoller), a gay Israeli soldier on reserve duty at a checkpoint in Isreal, loses his ID just before being relieved from duty. Ashraf (Yousef 'Joe' Sweild), a gay Palestinian, finds it during one of his many crossings at the checkpoint and dutifully returns it to Noam's apartment in Tel Aviv.
Upon Ashraf's arrival to Noam's home (whom he shares with two roomates, a straight woman named Lulu (Daniela Virtzer) and a gay man named Yelli (Alon Friedman,) romance immediately begins. Ashraf's arrival to Noam's flat is not the first they've seen of each other. They first met at the checkpoint under a tense situation involving the miscarriage of a Palestinian child.
Then comes the morning after...The harsh reality of Politics comes into play. Ashraf doesn't have an Israeli Work Permit...Ashraf's name isn't Hebrew...Ashraf is ultimately "the enemy" - at least in the eyes of Yelli. After Noam partakes in some dilluted political debate with Yelli, it is decided that Ashraf can stay in the apartment. Yelli even gets him a job as a waiter at a restaurant he manages - though there he goes by the name "Shimi"- in an effort to hide his Arabic roots.
Of course, all of this "pops" over time. Eventually Ashraf's roots are found out by a magazine editor that Lulu briefly dated then hated. Ashraf flees home, to Nablus, for his safety as well as his sister's wedding. Out of love, Noam (with a plan devised by Lulu) goes to Nablus, but ultimately only makes things worse for Ashraf - turmoil of nearly every kind follows.
The film's storyline is interesting and naturally filled with conflict, but the dilluted politics, and the writers' ability to break the suspension of disbelief in several instances negates from the film being all that it can be. The dilluted politics are somewhat intentional. It emphasizes the bubble that these urban twentysomethings live in, but the credibility is just spread too thin leading to a contrived ending that is meant to shock, but ultimately disappoints...
Directed by Eytan Fox.
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