and it was wonderful. ***1/2
*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS
Mona, the Syrian bride of the title, is a Druze woman from Golan Heights, Israel, who is engaged to marry a Syrian television star whom she has never met. The story, however, pivots around Mona as her family struggles with losing Mona (as once she crosses the Syrian border, she can never come back to Israel) but also with their own complex relationships and problems. Mona's sister, Amal, is ambitious and independent, but her husband will not allow her to go to university. Amal's daughter marches in pro-Syrian demonstrations and gets in trouble with her father. Mona's father was in jail for several years because of his political beliefs, and will not be allowed to the border for Mona's wedding. Mona's brother, Hammad, married a Russian woman several years before and since has been estranged from the family in Moscow. Another brother, Marwan is an endearingly sleazy entrepreneur with a gap in his teeth and a fondness for foreign women.
The family reunites at Mona's wedding, starting in the Druze village in the hills of Israel and traveling by car to the Syrian border. Their troubles are far from over, however, when they face bureaucratic difficulties with the passport officials on both sides.
A gorgeous film about intricate, interesting, and real, ordinary people set against a powerful political and cultural backdrop. If you get the chance to see this amazing film, please take it!
*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS
Mona, the Syrian bride of the title, is a Druze woman from Golan Heights, Israel, who is engaged to marry a Syrian television star whom she has never met. The story, however, pivots around Mona as her family struggles with losing Mona (as once she crosses the Syrian border, she can never come back to Israel) but also with their own complex relationships and problems. Mona's sister, Amal, is ambitious and independent, but her husband will not allow her to go to university. Amal's daughter marches in pro-Syrian demonstrations and gets in trouble with her father. Mona's father was in jail for several years because of his political beliefs, and will not be allowed to the border for Mona's wedding. Mona's brother, Hammad, married a Russian woman several years before and since has been estranged from the family in Moscow. Another brother, Marwan is an endearingly sleazy entrepreneur with a gap in his teeth and a fondness for foreign women.
The family reunites at Mona's wedding, starting in the Druze village in the hills of Israel and traveling by car to the Syrian border. Their troubles are far from over, however, when they face bureaucratic difficulties with the passport officials on both sides.
A gorgeous film about intricate, interesting, and real, ordinary people set against a powerful political and cultural backdrop. If you get the chance to see this amazing film, please take it!