West Bank Story

Starring: Ben Newmark, Noureen DeWulf, A.J. Tannen, Joey Naber, Haguy Wigdor, Oren Rehany, Nicholas Massouh, Will Greenberg, Sharif Ibrahim
Directed by: Ari Sandel
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Short, Comedy, Musical
Length: 21 minutes
2005

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Dueling falafel restaurants in the West Bank face off when a member of each falls in love with one from the other.

Review:

Tim: I enjoyed West Bank Story, the 2005 Academy Award winner for Best Short Film. It's a humorous West Side Story parody that transitions the drama (and singing) to Palestine. It features two fighting falafel restaurants, one of which is Israeli, the other Palestinian. It's a humorous twist on a very real and very deadly conflict between these two groups. It felt brave and a bit odd to make a musical comedy with this as the central premise, but it's fairly funny to watch these religious groups face off with singing and dancing, verses... you know, killing each other.

The short film does a good job of highlighting the different cultures and beliefs between these two groups. It's all played for laughs, but it hints at the deeper cultural and religious differences that separate these people. The fact that the movie centers this on hummus and falafels allows us to laugh about it. It's a humorous twist that is entertaining to watch.

The short itself offers some nice production and catchy music. None of it is spectacular, but it's effective and fun. The whole thing is a bit absurd and over-the-top, but it's all entertaining. The fact that the movie is so short is appropriate, there wasn't quite enough here for a longer film.

While I enjoyed West Bank Story, I'm a little surprised it won the Academy Award for Best Short Film. It's a clear parody of the more famous (and great) movie and it heavily borrows from it. The value comes in how they adapt that story to one set on the other side of the world. It's clever, but not exactly brilliant. The fact that this is an American film felt a little weird, too, as it's poking fun at a real world conflict between two different nations. Still, the short is worth seeing, it's a memorable film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Helmer & Son, The Danish Poet