200 MetersMustafa and his wife Salwa come from two Palestinian villages that are only 200 meters apart, but separated by the wall. Their unusual living situation is starting to affect their otherwise happy marriage, but the couple does what they can to make it work. Every night, Mustafa flashes a light from his balcony to wish his children on the other side a goodnight, and they signal him back. One day Mustafa gets a call that every parent dreads: his son has been in an accident. He rushes to the checkpoint where he must agonisingly wait in line only to find out there is a problem with his fingerprints and is denied entry. Desperate, Mustafa resorts to hiring a smuggler to bring him across. His once 200-meter journey becomes a 200-kilometer odyssey joined by other travellers determined to cross.
DirectorAmeen Nayfeh
WriterAmeen Nayfeh
badelf
@badelf
I've seen a lot of great Arab and Israeli films dealing with the thin, imaginary line between these cultures. This film just doesn't cut it. There are too many holes in the story for this movie to be of value. The biggest is, of course, why does the protagonist choose his Palestinianism over his wife and children? The director offers absolutely no hints for what is probably the most critical viewer question. There are other missing motives too.
