Feature-length Israeli-Palestinian file directed by Ali Nassar
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1964, a small village in Galilee under military government. In 1948, several of its inhabitants were killed or forced to flee, leaving behind them many relatives. Mabrouk, whose father and mother were killed near the Lebanese border, finds refuge in the village. He grows up, living off of charity and constantly searching for affection. He is the "village idiot".
Mabrouk secretly loves Jamila, a young girl traumatized by the horrors she has lived. Jamila loves Mabrouk also, but their place in society does not allow them to live their love in the light of day.
The village lives under the iron rule of Mukhtar, more concerned with serving the interests of the military governor than those of his fellow citizens. The times are hard, some of the villagers are bitter and ill will pervades, while others are weary of power struggles.
Mahmoud, a marginal who dares face up to Mukhtar, is one of the few who sincerely loves Mabrouk. When Mohamed, the brother Mukhtar, is killed, Mahmoud is accused of the crime and has to flee to escape vengeance.
Three dramatic encounters between modern-day Israelis and the Bedouin people who are their neighbors, colleagues, lovers and employees: A young Bedouin boy on a donkey is accidentally killed while crossing a highway; a German woman married to a Bedouin man and the mother of his children, decides she can no longer live according to tribal customs; the affair between an Israeli farmer and his family’s Bedouin maid becomes apparent to the Bedouin young man also in his employ. These stories pit cultures with divergent values and customs against one another. But at heart they are tales of the human condition — of passion and deceit, carelessness and love, courage and selfishness — in which no one culture has a monopoly on virtue or vice.
A film of forbidden and impossible love affairs, loyalty and betrayal...
The forbidden love affair of Suida and Shmuel her Israeli employer and the betrayal that follows. The impossible marriage between Tamam a German woman and her Bedouin husband, and the tragic death of a Bedouin boy on the asphalt road cutting the desert in two. Three dramatic encounters between East and West unfold depicting the way in which the western culture is pushing it's way into the desert once the sole domain of the Bedouin tribes and how it shakes their ancient tradition.