Omar 2013

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: "Omar" eventually becomes a sun-scorched neo-noir - and the fade-out is an unforgettable jolter. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Abu-Assad has created a convincingly noirish hell that feeds on distrust and vengeance. Read more

Jay Weissberg, Variety: All the actors have an easy confidence that's vital for their frequent closeups, underscoring their humanity rather than their function as illustrations of a well-known conflict. Read more

Ben Kenigsberg, AV Club: Knotty and tense for most of its running time, Omar becomes muddled in its closing minutes, conflating personal and political treachery. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Abu-Assad does a masterful job of showing, in these seemingly hopeless circumstances, the fragility of life. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: It's told with a stark, pitiless clarity that leaves you with fewer answers than before. Read more

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader: This gripping Palestinian thriller evokes Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers in its depiction of not only the psychological pressures faced by people under occupation, but the murky moral consequences of retaliating. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The film works best as a straightforward melodrama set in an anything but straightforward world. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Omar is romance and thriller. Of course, trust is at the heart of the matter. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: A story of love and betrayal set against political tumult and violence in Palestine, "Omar" is both classic and painfully present in its concerns. Read more

Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: The somber Omar isn't as controversial as Paradise Now but it too gets behind the TV news bulletins to discreetly put a human face on what is often just more electronic noise. Sometimes it's the quietest voices that are really the loudest. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: A harrowing, humane Arabic-language import about life under occupation that's part Romeo-and-Juliet love story and part twisty chess-pawn thriller. Read more

Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: A strong storyline about the West Bank and its endless cycle of violence leaves interpretation up to the viewer. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: It is difficult to figure out which is the film's more pressing theme - the power of love to change the course of a life, or the political and social realities of living in occupied territory. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Like most movies about the Middle East conflict, Omar is ultimately about the futility of violence and how it feeds on itself. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: "Omar" is a real thriller, a snake pit of plot twists, in which the perspectives shift, destinations change and the moral universe spins and sways. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: A fraught film ... Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: It's the sort of film that feels so authentic that even knowing it's a fiction, the morning after seeing it, I found myself scanning headlines to see if there were any new developments. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The movie grips us partly because Bakri's performance is alternately casual and calculated. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: "Omar" does not offer the promise of a just or satisfying resolution, a fatalism all the more devastating given its realistic methods and humane, understated performances. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: I don't want to see the characters as freedom fighters or terrorists. I just want to see them as human beings. But the director uses them as political magnets to draw us toward his ideological sympathies. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Abu-Assad's tale is less a political thriller than it is a human story - although everything about its setting and circumstances is defined by oppression, surveillance, restriction, and control. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: A tender love story, a haunting tragedy and an expertly crafted thriller with flawed, damaged and not entirely likable characters. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: The virtues of "Omar," a thriller about the Palestinian conflict, are overshadowed by a one-sided political message. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A riveting blend of thriller and romance elements, "Omar" grabs you from the very first image. Read more

Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun-Times: Abu-Assad offers no solutions here. Instead he paints a portrait of the daily rhythms of the occupation, an endless conflict that has seeped into every aspect of life in the West Bank. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: The strongest element here is the surprise-filled plot, and a standout performance from Palestinian-American actor Waleed Zuaiter. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Bakri has charisma to burn, but the complexity of Abu-Assad's previous movies is traded in for weak genre thrills. Read more

Nick Schager, Village Voice: [Its] thriller machinations are merely a vehicle to deliver narrow-minded political preaching. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Bakri, a relative newcomer to the big screen, does a superb job of carrying a film in which he appears in nearly every scene. Read more