Sand Storm (2017)

So much average

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

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.

Well acted and beautifully directed, the film has thoughtful pauses on the faces of the characters as they convey the story through their emotions and facial expressions. The action takes place in and around the family's village and almost exclusively in Suliman's compound. Suliman appears to love his family—his first wife and daughters—but, as others have mentioned, he is undone by what he thinks is the proper course. His wife and daughter are trying to tell him you don't "have" to do anything. The raw emotion of Layla sobbing as she realizes the sacrifice she must make to save her mother and her sisters is truly heartbreaking.

Sand Storm is about a patriarchal social system that hasn't budged much from the dark ages despite the evolution happening all around it, and despite the yearning for change from much of the population, especially the female population. The brilliance of this film, though, is that the filmmaker - Elite Zexer - never ultimately condemns any individuals in the film, demonstrating that the system has taken on a life of its own, and people are ultimately beyond judgment. As Morpheus said in The Matrix, "The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy." Yes, the father is railed against for his seeming inability to think for himself, but rather automatically doing what is expected of him. But he is also portrayed as a loving and reasonable man, and even as a progressive and independent thinker...just not when it comes to his daughter marrying whom she wants to. Yes, young love and young life is quashed by the actions of people - rigid tradition needs people to sustain it - and the anguish that ensues is heartbreaking. But is keeping with tradition the appropriate thing to do in the long run, in the big picture? Everyone - willingly or begrudgingly - seems to accept that it is. Or do they? And whether it is or isn't, what does it matter when there's no choice. Or is there? There is one telling scene between the father and mother, where - despite the tremendous friction between them throughout the film - they share an intimate moment. They share a cigarette, talk comfortingly to each other, and hug, acknowledging then and there that the system is bigger than both of them, and with their hug they silently agree that deferring to it is the only thing that can be done, like it or not. There is no choice. But this is not seen as a tragedy, necessarily. Their world is what it is, and one has to accept that. Or do they? Will the little girl who sees her beautiful, intelligent sister with her new schlemiel of an arranged husband accept that when she's of marrying age? Is she the future Bedouin Neo who will challenge the Matrix?

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.