olgailicheva 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.

lileonhirth This film is about a young Bedouin girl named Layla who is struggling to become free from old traditions, and trying to keep her love for Lamis a secret. Throughout the majority of this film Layla was trying her hardest to keep Lamis a secret from her family especially her mother. This film was not my favorite film I have watched. This film was extremely slow, and many of the scenes did not grab and hold my attention with something exciting. I like how this film took place in Israel because a few years ago I visited Israel, and I thought it was cool how I could relate to the locations and religion. One major theme in this film was how the main characters did not have much to do. In my opinion this made the film boring because there was not a lot action involved. There was only one conflict in this film which was how Layla was trapped between her secret love and her family. This whole film was tied around one main theme which was choice. I would recommend this film to someone who is not looking for a lot of action or exciting scenes.

palomita-15068 This film depicts a Bedouin family on the brink of changing traditions.When the father of the family takes a second wife, and the daughter finds herself in love with a boy from college. Each character must make decisions that will change the outcome of the family. Although a main theme is about woman living in world of strict traditions I think it is mainly about a family trying to make the right decisions for each other.Throughout the film the director will turn you against the adults, and then give you a window of insight that will allow you to sympathize with them. I was constantly urging the characters to do something, on the end of the seat, and although the film left me a little sad you must look beyond the film, to what it is trying to hint the future may hold, not just for the protagonists, but all woman around the world.I will certainly be thinking about Layla, her sister and what life has in hold for them, for a while.

Amos Geva The film follows the struggle of a young Bedouin girl and her will to be free of old traditions that try to keep her caged in a man's world. The main plot follows Jalila (Ruba Blal-Asfour), the first wife of a man that is trapped under the pressure of having a new young wife join the clan. Her daughter, Layla (Lamis Ammar), has a secret lover at school, and Jalila must decide if she is part of the mechanism that will trap her daughter too or going to fight for the next generation to have more than she could ever dream of. The brave directing and storytelling brings to the screen a complex story, exhibiting female struggles from a very specific perspective yet in a very universal way. It is not by chance that the film has had such a successful festival circuit.