The Bubble

Last night, I saw The Bubble, a 2006 Israeli film about a pair of star-crossed lovers - one Israeli, one Palestinian. The film was being screened at the Washington, D.C., Jewish Community Center, and it was packed. A love forbidden along the often-examined social and political boundaries between Israel and Palestine would have been very interesting already. (The previous setence is already geopolitcally questionable...) The thing that made this film unique, though, was that both lovers were men.

Although I felt that the end of the movie progressed too quickly, making it unbelievable, the film was extremely thought-provoking. I really know very little about the Middle East, and seeing left-leaning youth in Israel was fascinating to me. One quote that stuck out was something akin to "We don't need territories; we need to dance!" Also, I learned that Tel Aviv is the San Francisco of Israel when it comes to gay issues. Homosexuality was generally accepted with such a nonchalance in the film's Tel Aviv that I was actually taken aback. (Compare this to the recent uproar over Larry Craig.)

The love story at the center of the film reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. I read somewhere that the director initially tossed around the idea of calling the film Romeo and Julio but eventually nixed the idea lest his work be confused for gay pornography. But in a Danes-DiCaprio-esque manner, the film's major protagonists experience "love at first sight," and the rest of the film explores the complications of their relationship. I still don't think that instanteous love on a profound level is possible, but I'm sure many people would disagree with me.

Overall, I think that The Bubble is worth seeing, especially if the film's subject matter within its setting is unfamiliar. It definitely broadened my horizons and made me question my assumptions.