The Bubble (2006 film)

The Bubble
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Eytan Fox
Produced by	Ronen Ben Tal
Written by	Eytan Fox Gal Uchovsky
Starring	Ohad Knoller as Noam Alon Friedman as Yali Daniela Virtzer as Lulu Yousef 'Joe' Sweid as Ashraf
Music by	Ivri Lider
Cinematography	Yaron Scharf
Editing by	Yosef Grunfeld Yaniv Raiz
Distributed by	- Israel - United King Films - USA - Strand Releasing - UK - TLA Releasing - Germany - pro fun media GmbH
Release date(s)	June 29, 2006 (Israel)
Running time	117 mins.
Country	Israel
Language	Hebrew Arabic
Budget	$1,500,000 (est.)

The Bubble (Hebrew: הבועה HaBuah) is a 2006 Israeli film by Eytan Fox about a gay love story between an Israeli and a Palestinian.^[1] The title of the film refers to Tel Aviv, a relatively peaceful city in a tumultuous region.

[edit] Plot summary

Noam, a young Israeli working at a checkpoint while on reserve duty, witnesses a Palestinian woman giving birth to a dead baby; he also notices a young Palestinian man there, Ashraf. He then gets back to Tel Aviv as he has finished his military service. There he shares a flat with another gay man, Yali, and a girl, Lulu, who works in a soap shop.

Ashraf comes back to return Noam's passport which he had dropped and left at the checkpoint. The two men kiss and it is agreed that he will move in with them and work in Yali's restaurant, as he could not be openly gay in Palestine. However, despite taking on a Hebrew name (Shimi) and pretending to be a Jew, a man with whom Lulu has slept sees through this, and voices his suspicions, causing Ashraf to run off back to his family in Palestine.

Noam and Lulu dress up as French television journalists and drive to his parents' house and there the two men kiss. Ashraf's future brother-in-law, Jihad, sees them and repudiates him, adding that Ashraf has to marry a girl his family has chosen for him. Before his sister's wedding ceremony, he tells her he is in love with a man, which she does not accept either.

A little later, Ashraf goes off to join the Israelis at an anti-war rave party on a beach. Later still, Yali is maimed in a bombing in Tel Aviv, while he was out in a bar. He will never walk again.

Similarly, Ashraf's sister is killed in a military raid, before his very eyes. At the funeral all the men from his family appear very vengeful but he does not. His brother-in-law, Jihad, decides to avenge the death of his newlywed bride, and while creating a suicide video, Ashraf decides to take Jihad's place as a suicide bomber in Tel Aviv.

When Ashraf primes his explosive belt, Noam sees him from inside the bar where he has just bought Yali's and Lulu's dinner, and rushes out to Ashraf. As Noam approaches, Ashraf turns and ignites the explosives, killing them both as well as causing other injuries and damage to the café. Death has won but love has won, too. The film ends with Noam, talking in the background about the love the two shared, and a scene where young Noam and young Ashraf had played together as children in Jerusalem, their mothers sitting side by side.

[edit] Background

• Eytan Fox has admitted that the film might have been prompted by his memory of falling in love with a Palestinian man when he was going through his military service, when he was eighteen, although he did not follow this through.^[2]
• The film was originally meant to be entitled Romeo and Julio in reference to Romeo and Juliet, but it was changed for The Bubble after Eytan Fox was told it would sound like a porn movie.^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ Lubitow, Adam (2007-06-20). "Review of "The Bubble"". AfterElton.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
2. ^ ^{a b} Têtu, July–August 2007 issue, page 24

[edit] External links

• Official myspace