Palestine’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2022 Academy Awards, “Gaza Mon Amour” benefits from the decades of experience brought by Dau and Abbass. Their nuanced performances build in backstories for characters who live firmly in the present, in today’s Gaza, with all the challenges and frustrations that brings. Dau, so fiery and magnetic in the recent “Oslo,” is gentler and softer here, more pulled into himself and more mischievous; a scene of him dancing to love songs while frying fish is both joyous and devastating. Abbass, who has gained a new cadre of fans thanks to her excellent work on HBO’s hit drama series “Succession,” is a true One Look Actress. With minute differences in her gaze or head tilt, she communicates disappointment, resentment, amusement, and satisfaction. Individually, Dau and Abbass are precise; together, they’re wonderfully in tune.
The pair portray Issa (Dau) and Siham (Abbass), respectively. The 60-year-old Issa is a fisherman who every night shows his permit to the authorities and goes to work on his fishing boat, where he brings in a meager catch that he sells at the market. It’s there that he often sees Siham, a widow who lives with her divorced daughter Leila (Maisa Abd Elhadi). The two work as seamstresses at the women’s clothing store, with Siham practically running the business that is about to cut her hours because of rising prices and a lack of customers, and Leila dreaming of a new start at the local university.
In fact, practically everyone is dreaming of starting afresh, and they consistently bump up against the boundaries of such longings. Issa admires Siham from afar and keeps working on the confidence to pursue her, while his younger sister Manal (Manal Awad) instead pushes her own choices for a wife upon him. (Dau’s cheeky line delivery of “You think I’m out of date?” is a perfect encapsulation of his impish charm.) Issa’s friend Samir (George Iskandar) plans on cashing out his life savings and making the nearly impossible journey to Europe. “When will this shitty life be over?” he complains after yet another night of cutoff electricity, Israeli strikes, and no sales at his store. And even Siham, who is resolutely practical, allows herself some fantasizing in the form of a second marriage for Leila—or at least a career for her daughter that won’t grind her down, as Siham has been.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7s7vGnqmempWnwW%2BvzqZmq52mnrK4v46gmLOZXaK8r3nApqauql2ivLe1xGapnq6ZmsRufo9raA%3D%3D