The Stranger – REVIEW
Image: Mohammad Bakri as Abu Adnan in The Stranger. Image: film still
By MARTIN FABINYI
Against a backdrop of barbed wire, armoured cars with mounted machine guns, and military checks, in the occupied Golan Heights, an unlicensed doctor has lost his way in life.
His father has disinherited him, his wife can’t reach him, and he has become dependent on alcohol to get by. His life takes a different direction when he rescues a soldier wounded in the war in Syria. When the soldier dies, the doctor’s life is given new meaning and the stranger, which refers to both himself and the soldier, can move on.
A slow-burn film, The Stranger takes us into the harsh reality of the constant dangers faced daily by the Palestinian people.
The director, Ameer Fakher Eldin, is a Syrian screenwriter and director, and The Stranger, his debut film, premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival (Giornate Degli Autori), where it won the Edipo Re Award for Best Film.
It has been selected as the Palestinian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.
