The Bubble is a contemporary Romeo and Juliet story set in Tel Aviv.
The star-crossed lovers here are two men, one an Israeli and one a Palestinian, and the focus is on the bright young things of Tel Aviv. They all want peace, love and understanding, and they do their best to look away from the political turmoil around them.
The Bubble opens with a tense scene at a West Bank checkpoint, where Israeli soldiers bark at Palestinian travellers and a woman goes into labour on the spot. It's a bad situation, and Noam (Ohad Knoller), who is one of the Israeli soldiers, obviously doesn't have his heart in what he's doing.
Observing Noam at that checkpoint is Ashraf (Yousef "Joe" Sweid), a handsome young Palestinian. He turns up later at Noam's apartment and the two men begin an affair. Noam helps him find work, and it turns out that Ashraf is pretty good at pretending to be an Israeli. For the time being, the two can maintain a relationship. Noam's roommates, meanwhile, have their own sets of problems. Lulu (Daniela Wircer) has been flirting with a new guy, but it turns out he's using her sexually. The other roommate, a gay man named Yelli (Alon Friedman), has a new boyfriend who seems too macho and unsophisticated.
At any rate, the three pals go to work, deal with their love lives and try to protect Ashraf, who stays, illegally, in Tel Aviv. They even organize a beach rave against the occupation. Ashraf learns to love the freedom of Tel Aviv, but eventually, he has to go home to Palestine, to his sister's wedding. It is very difficult for Ashraf to return to what is presented as a far more repressive society.
For all the complicated love affairs, sparkly nightlife and Western pop references, The Bubble has an underlying tension that reflects the ever-present turmoil and violence of the region.
In the end, that violence trumps love.
According to the filmmaker, The Bubble is an expression -- used in a negative way -- to describe the carefree life of the younger set in Tel Aviv. Residents live in a bubble of unreality, trying to ignore the violence around them. Eytan Fox (Walk On Water), the director of The Bubble, suggests instead that people cut themselves off from the chaos in order to survive. The film has won several festival awards, including Best Feature at Toronto's Inside Out fest, and it was shown at TIFF in 2006 and this year at the Toronto Jewish Film Fest.
The Bubble has an impressive cast and it works well on some levels, but the larger themes are presented in a somewhat obvious way, like politics "lite." You'll forget it five minutes after you've seen it.
The Bubble is in Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles.
(This film is rated 18-A)
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