Two groups on the brink of exhaustion

The most provocative and politically charged moment in the wry Palestinian drama “Rana’s Wedding” occurs in the middle of a Jerusalem street battle. The young Arab woman of the film’s title comes across some Palestinian boys and men hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers, who are answering the assault with gunfire. For all the bullets and noise, there’s something halfhearted about the skirmish, and when the woman pauses to throw her own stone, the act feels strictly pro forma -- an exhausted gesture in a spiritually exhausting war.

A story about roadblocks at once metaphoric and agonizingly real, “Rana’s Wedding,” which premiered at the 2002 Cannes film festival and has played at numerous festivals since, traces what happens to a young Palestinian woman who has been hesitating at the crossroads of a life-defining decision. For reasons that are never overtly explained, Rana (an appealing Clara Khoury) has been issued an ultimatum by her father: She must choose a husband from his list of approved suitors or leave for Egypt that very afternoon. And so that morning at dawn, Rana pauses in front of her sprawling family home and, in a voice-over that sounds like a prayer, confesses, “I don’t want to be afraid anymore.” Then, with her father’s list tucked in a plastic bag, she ventures into Jerusalem and its topography of everyday violence.

Directed by Hany Abu-Assad, from a screenplay by Liana Badr and Ihab Lamey, “Rana’s Wedding” takes the shape of a profoundly anti-touristic tour of one of the hottest hot spots in the Middle East. Rana spends most of the film running across Jerusalem trying to hook up with her boyfriend, Khalil (Khalifa Natour), a theater director who may prove to be her salvation. Bottlenecked streets, armed soldiers and even a funeral impede her every step. No matter which way she turns, Rana runs head-first into brute reality, whether at her aunt’s, where her uncle is laid up with an injury received in a riot, or at a friend’s, where Jewish squatters point their machine guns at her with glazed indifference. By the time she passes the rock-throwing boys and men, it’s no surprise to see her hefting a rock, however reflexively.

In its ebb and flow between melancholic resignation and invigorated resilience, “Rana’s Wedding” bears resemblance to Elia Suleiman’s deadly serious comedy about modern Palestinian life, “Divine Intervention.” Although it lacks the artistry and relieving humor of Suleiman’s feature, the film effectively conveys the fears and frustrations of Palestinians struggling in a country that treats them as the enemy. In such a place, where surveillance cameras sweep every alley and armed soldiers line every bazaar, even the simple act of leaving your bag on the street can have explosive consequences. Rana’s journey makes poignantly clear that life for ordinary Palestinians has become a welter of pain, terror and dehumanizing violence. What remains unsaid is that the very same holds true for those ordinary Israeli Jews who dread that their next bus ride will ignite into an unimaginable nightmare.

*

‘Rana’s Wedding’

MPAA rating: Unrated

Times guidelines: Some mild violence

Clara Khoury...Rana

Khalifa Natour...Khalil

Ismael Dabbag...Ramzy

Walid Abed Elsalam...marriage official

Sami Metwasi...friend

Released by AFD Theatrical. Director Hany Abu-Assad. Writers Liana Badr, Ihab Lamey. Story Liana Badr. Producers Bero Beyer, George Ibrahim. Director of photography Brigit Hillenius.Editor Denise Janzee. Music Mariecke van der Linden, Bashar Abd Rabbou. Costumes Hamada Atallah. Casting Najwa Mubarky. In Arabic with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

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