The Idol – Film Review by Helen Major

Writer and Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Stars: Tawfeek Barhom, Ahmed Al Rokh, Hiba Attalah

‘The Idol’ is a film based around a true-life story based in the Gaza Strip and made by an award-winning Palestinian filmmaker, Hany Abu-Assad. Now when a person in the western world is asked to dwell on their conception of The Gaza Strip, inevitably they would think of violence and hard living. One wouldn’t immediately think about singing sensations or musical icons. For that reason, the premise of this film can be a little difficult to engage with initially, but it actually makes for an interesting and relatable perspective on a way of life that not many of us can fully appreciate. The story follows a group of kids within Gaza, specifically a brother and sister, who harbour a dream of being a world famous band.

While the dream remains the same throughout, the film is very much split into two halves – one stronger than the other. We start the film in the early 2000s right in the Gaza strip where we are presented with four school children who have come together in a make-shift band. The tone is colourful and light, and the film snaps from moment to moment in quick succession without much exposition or lingering set-up. This pace works really well for the ambitious, fun-loving kids that we’re following, and makes it quite difficult to get bored or distracted.

The story is simple but the characters are great, particularly the spunky sister who dreams of much more than her mother’s promise of marriage. The conflict for which the area is so infamous is present, but not overbearing. Limbless men and barbed wire fences that intrude on the games and general gaiety of an otherwise normal childhood present the audience with an ominous, but unexplained view of the issue, which is probably similar to the perceptions of these children. This clever insinuation of conflict is enough to remind us of where these kids are without taking away their relatability. It allows enough space for the story to unfold without stifling us. If the film had carried on in this fashion, it would have been a funny and interesting exploration of life in a country that so few people understand.

However, half way through the film we jump forward in time to 2012, and the children from the band have grown up and taken on the responsibilities of young adults. There is a very deliberate shift in tone at this point, and for obvious reasons. Not only has the conflict in the area escalated, but the level of understanding that our characters have has increased with age. The film takes on a colder, greyish hue, opposed to bright yellow light of the first half, and we see drawn-out sequences of buildings turned to rubble, and a community that has clearly been touched by immense violence and destruction. We see some of the same imagery as we did in the first half, but it has increased in severity.

This juxtaposition alone makes for interesting viewing, but unfortunately it is not substantial enough to make up for some other weaknesses in the second half, such as the sudden loss of personality in our characters. As children, they were distinct, developed individuals who seemed genuine and believable. However, their adult counterparts felt a little bland and unpolished in comparison. Though, interestingly, it is worth noting that the women were much more rounded beings than the men, which is unusual in a film predominantly about a male protagonist.

As well as the character weakness, there were moments where the motivations of characters were difficult to believe. The beauty of one man’s singing voice was used multiple times as a reason for minor characters to do unjustified and uncharacteristic things. Even the romantic subplot that starts in the second half also feels a little perfunctory. The second half of the film was generally disappointing, after an enjoyable start.

As one unit, the film feels inconsistent. It starts out as an engaging and interesting story, with characters that are easy to invest in, and the ending is reasonably satisfying, but the middle section is definitely not as strong. Overall, it was generally entertaining to watch, but not especially effective.