Sand Storm (2017)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

A very compelling and well made film. Every shot, every line of dialogue has a putpose and adds to the multi-layered story. It is amazing how much can be told in such a short time. On the surface, it is a story about issues women have to deal with in a traditional tribal society. But it is just as much about Suliman, the man of the family, and complex choices the family has to make for their sirvival. It is clear that Suliman has his daughters' best interests at heart and loves his first wife but he has to fit in the tribe and play by the rules because their support is all he has if tomorrow, his home gets bulldozed by the Israeli government and he ends up losing everything, the way Anwar's relatives did. This is the fate he wants Layla to avoid and when he tells her about her future husband, the only thing he cares for is that she "finds peace". Peace and security are the most important values, in his eyes. When you are a second class citizen in your own land, community/clan can sometimes be perceived as the only source and guarantee of security.An arranged marriage is not necessarily what Suliman wants for his daughters in the first place. He wants Layla to be independant and have an education and better future, he is concerned about her grades even more than she is. But when Layla and Anwar decide to marry and he learns about Anwar's situation, he feels he has to prevent their marriage at all costs. Apart from Anwar's not yet being able to support Layla financially, the family also risks losing respect and support of their village, and he has younger daughters to provide for. It is for the same reasons, to gain favours from the community, that Suliman takes the second younger wife whom he doesn't love and doesn't sleep with. But apparently, the new wife comes from a relatively wealthy family who helped build and furnish a new house for the couple whereas Suliman's own financial situation leaves much to be desired. Jalila understands all this, both she and Suliman roll with the punches but in the end, she can't help but feel resentment and disappointment towards her husband for his lack of independence and self-respect.Suliman believes that he has to make sacrifices for the future of his family but all it leads to is the young generation having to make sacrifices of their own, and the cycle goes on.

The movie starts with a man and his daughter driving into town. At first his daughter is driving but as soon as they get to town the dad starts driving because it is illegal for women to drive. This sets the tone for the movie. We come to the fathers second wedding, so he has two wives now. He leaves the first wife with the kids at a house and goes to a new house with the new wife. He is absent much of the movie but comes back to meet the boy his daughter loves. He scares the boy away, never to be seen for the rest of the movie. And forces his daughter, Layla, to marry Munir, a man from the town. Layla starts to run but right before she gets to her boyfriend she stops her car and goes back because she realizes that she really can't run anywhere.

This was an interesting movie, because things turned out differently than expected. Layla, one of the main characters in the film lives in a Bedouin community with her mother and siblings, and they start having a hard time coping to life, when their father introduces his new wife. Layla goes to college outside of the territory, and she starts falling in love with a student in the school. This becomes an issue, when he is introduced to her dad Suliman, because he is not part of the Bedouin community. Layla has to marry an old guy, whom her father has arranged for her, and at the end she ends up marrying him. Towards the end of the film, I was very surprised, because when Layla was in her car on her way to see Anwar, she turned off the engine of the car, and went back to her family. I did not expect this to happen, because Layla did not want to marry a random guy whom she was arranged to marry, and her mother started excepting her choice to leave, but she decided to act otherwise. I did not like Layla's dad in the film, because once his new wife came along, he abandoned his children, and left them in a rotten house, while he lived in a newly built one, he took away their electric power, and they were left with nothing. Layla's mother was upset when this happened to her and her children, that she decided to stay with her parents, Layla was taking care of herself and her siblings, but dropped them off to their mother, when she wanted to run off. Overall I would give this film a 4 out of 5.

Sand Storm is about a patriarchal social system that hasn't budged much from the dark ages despite the evolution happening all around it, and despite the yearning for change from much of the population, especially the female population. The brilliance of this film, though, is that the filmmaker - Elite Zexer - never ultimately condemns any individuals in the film, demonstrating that the system has taken on a life of its own, and people are ultimately beyond judgment. As Morpheus said in The Matrix, "The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy." Yes, the father is railed against for his seeming inability to think for himself, but rather automatically doing what is expected of him. But he is also portrayed as a loving and reasonable man, and even as a progressive and independent thinker...just not when it comes to his daughter marrying whom she wants to. Yes, young love and young life is quashed by the actions of people - rigid tradition needs people to sustain it - and the anguish that ensues is heartbreaking. But is keeping with tradition the appropriate thing to do in the long run, in the big picture? Everyone - willingly or begrudgingly - seems to accept that it is. Or do they? And whether it is or isn't, what does it matter when there's no choice. Or is there? There is one telling scene between the father and mother, where - despite the tremendous friction between them throughout the film - they share an intimate moment. They share a cigarette, talk comfortingly to each other, and hug, acknowledging then and there that the system is bigger than both of them, and with their hug they silently agree that deferring to it is the only thing that can be done, like it or not. There is no choice. But this is not seen as a tragedy, necessarily. Their world is what it is, and one has to accept that. Or do they? Will the little girl who sees her beautiful, intelligent sister with her new schlemiel of an arranged husband accept that when she's of marrying age? Is she the future Bedouin Neo who will challenge the Matrix?