Omar
Starring: Adam Bakri, Leem Lubany, Iyad Hoorani
Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Rating: 3/5
Hany Abu-Assad returns to the director's chair this week with his new film Omar.
Abu-Assad has brought us movies such as Paradise Now and Do Not Forget Me Istanbul, but this is his first film since The Courier in 2012.
Omar is accustomed to dodging surveillance bullets to cross the separation wall to visit his secret love Nadia.
But occupied Palestine knows neither simple love nor clear-cut war. On the other side of the wall, the sensitive young baker Omar becomes a freedom fighter who must face painful choices about life and manhood.
When Omar is captured after a deadly act of resistance, he falls into a cat-and-mouse game with the military police.
If you are looking for an alternative to the blockbusters this week, then Omar could well be a movie worth checking out.
Omar is by no means a perfect film, but it is a gripping and interesting watch.
There are hard-hitting moments throughout as well as being thought-provoking, but the plot does get a little tangled from time to time: which is a major shame.
Adam Bakri gives a terrific central performance in the title role - hard to believe that Omar marks his feature film debut.
Bakri creates empathy for Omar and really gets under the skin of this interesting character.
Omar is a film that has a bit of everything: action, suspense, and thriller elements. However, Abu-Assad really does bring a real emotional depth to the story and characters that I was not expecting.
Omar is out now.