Actuakers
One of my all time favorites.
Suman Roberson
It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
Tymon Sutton
The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
lileonhirth
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.
ciyao-29248
The film Sand Storm directed by Elite Zexer is a drama different than other drama films I have seen. Since the setting of this film is in Bedouin Village in Israel, their living environment and customs are absolutely different apart from my life. While Jaila is preparing wedding for her husband and his second wife, Jaila's daughter, Layla fells in love. However, when Jaila finds out, she does not want Layla to see her boyfriend again. Layla has ran away, but she stops and still comes back for the arranged marriage her family made for her. I was very touched when I saw the scene of Jaila actually allows Layla to run away. Although Layla's escape is going to damage her family relationships, she still respects her daughter's decision. I think the reason she allows Layla to run away is because Jaila does not like her marriage, and she does not want to put her daughter in the same situation as herself. However, this film as a whole has a very sad atmosphere. I would rate this film a 7 out of 10 because I am not used to the pace of this movie.
Elinor
This was an interesting movie, because things turned out differently than expected. Layla, one of the main characters in the film lives in a Bedouin community with her mother and siblings, and they start having a hard time coping to life, when their father introduces his new wife. Layla goes to college outside of the territory, and she starts falling in love with a student in the school. This becomes an issue, when he is introduced to her dad Suliman, because he is not part of the Bedouin community. Layla has to marry an old guy, whom her father has arranged for her, and at the end she ends up marrying him. Towards the end of the film, I was very surprised, because when Layla was in her car on her way to see Anwar, she turned off the engine of the car, and went back to her family. I did not expect this to happen, because Layla did not want to marry a random guy whom she was arranged to marry, and her mother started excepting her choice to leave, but she decided to act otherwise. I did not like Layla's dad in the film, because once his new wife came along, he abandoned his children, and left them in a rotten house, while he lived in a newly built one, he took away their electric power, and they were left with nothing. Layla's mother was upset when this happened to her and her children, that she decided to stay with her parents, Layla was taking care of herself and her siblings, but dropped them off to their mother, when she wanted to run off. Overall I would give this film a 4 out of 5.
dertwonshuw-51350
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.
