The Reports on Sarah and Saleem

Name: The Reports on Sarah and Saleem
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Crime, War
Released: June 12, 2019
Duration: 127 min
Rating: 69
Cast: Adeeb Safadi, Amer Khalil, Bashar Hassuneh, Hanan Hillo, Ishai Golan

2019

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Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews

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The Reports On Sarah And Saleem (US Trailer 1)

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Movie Details & Credits

Dada Films | Release Date: June 12, 2019 | Not Rated

Starring: Adeeb Safadi, Amer Khalil, Bashar Hassuneh, Hanan Hillo, Ishai Golan, Jan Kühne, Kamel El Basha, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Mohammad Eid, Sivane Kretchner

Summary: Sarah, an Israeli café owner living in West Jerusalem, has a clandestine relationship with Saleem, her Palestinian bread vendor, who lives in East Jerusalem. When their spouses discover the affair, two lives – already divided by politics, culture, class, and marital commitments – are made infinitely more complicated. A not uncommon betrayalSarah, an Israeli café owner living in West Jerusalem, has a clandestine relationship with Saleem, her Palestinian bread vendor, who lives in East Jerusalem. When their spouses discover the affair, two lives – already divided by politics, culture, class, and marital commitments – are made infinitely more complicated. A not uncommon betrayal takes on an entirely sinister new twist as Israeli and Palestinian authorities misread the writing on the wall. Based on true events. [Dada Films]… Expand

Director: Muayad Alayan

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Romance, Crime, War

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 127 min

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Critic Reviews

Kerry Lengel

Jul 25, 2019

The power dynamics between two peoples locked in “asymmetrical conflict” — not to mention two sets of gender codes — set the stage for Alayan’s thriller. In storytelling terms, they are the rules by which the tightly wound plot unspools. But the film’s great strength, in addition to the usual quality-control things, is its care to humanize, not demonize, the characters who are playing by those rules. Read full review

Vanessa H. Larson

Jul 9, 2019

At its heart, though, this is a film about human nature: about desire, recklessness and emotions. The fraught relationship between Israelis and Palestinians is this tale’s powerful overlay. But it’s the questions it raises about personal accountability that speak to wider truths. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

Jun 14, 2019

The Reports on Sarah and Saleem snaps, crackles and pops. A taut and compelling Jerusalem-set melodrama, it effectively intertwines the personal with the political in a way that is only enhanced by that city’s fraught atmosphere and cultural dynamics. Read full review

Wendy Ide

Jun 11, 2019

Unshowy camerawork and an understated score both place the emphasis on the largely impressive and naturalistic performances. Read full review

Jordan Mintzer

Jun 11, 2019

Muayad Alayan coaxes excellent performances out of the two leads and their supporting spouses, and even if the drama can seem heavy-handed in a few places, it remains quite believable throughout. Read full review

Ben Kenigsberg

Jun 11, 2019

Alayan’s light directorial touch can make the storytelling seem overly straightforward. But his tight control over the proceedings becomes clear in a closing shot that elegantly encapsulates the film’s complexities. Read full review

Diego Semerene

Jun 11, 2019

We never spend enough time with the characters to believe the urgency, and lushness, of their cravings. Read full review

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GreatMartin

Jul 12, 2019

Sarah, a cafe owner, is cheating on her husband, Israeli army Colonel David, with Saleem, a delivery driver whose wife Bisa is pregnant, which is nothing new in the world of movies and television. The conflict here is that Sarah and David are Israelis while Saleem and Bisa are PalestinianSarah, a cafe owner, is cheating on her husband, Israeli army Colonel David, with Saleem, a delivery driver whose wife Bisa is pregnant, which is nothing new in the world of movies and television. The conflict here is that Sarah and David are Israelis while Saleem and Bisa are Palestinian and the affair takes on geopolitical dimensions when Saleem is arrested under not quite believable circumstances.

Going back and forth between West and East Jerusalem, the illicit affair and the seemingly normal home lives of both couples the movie goes a bit awry from the point of Saleem's arrest, the unsuspecting spouses finding out what is going on and the reactions of all 4 with 1 having to lie in the hope of saving their marriage. The second half of the movie is a little over the top when it becomes a 'thriller'. A couple of scenes are way too melodramatic if not completely explainable but they do raise expectations of topics to be discussed after the movie. Sivane Kretchner (Sarah), Maisa Abd Elhadi (Bisa), Adeeb Safadi (Saleem) and Ishai Golan (David) give excellent performances with Elhadi having the greater arc of change. Though at times it is difficult to tell which side the officials are on the supporting cast does first rate job with Hanan Hillo a standout as public defender while Rebecca Esmeralda Telhami, as Sarah's employee, has a line that explains a lot of what the politics of Jews and Arabs are all about.

The screenplay by Rami Alayan, brother of the director, Muayad Alayan, has to take some of the blame for not as clear last third of the picture while both deserve the credit for the open-ended scene.

"The Reports of Sarah & Saleem" is a good movie but a little too long and one too many shots of the hillside village.… Expand

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