Neighbours
Nachbarn | Mano Khalil | Switzerland, 2021 | Kurdish/Hebrew/Arabic/Turkish (English subtitles) | Drama | 124m | DCP | Distributor: Menemsha Films
Description: Growing in a Kurdish village in northeastern Syria in the seventies, Sero is about to enter the first grade. The new school teacher is determined to instil Ba’ath Party Arab nationalism and suppress any feelings of Kurdish cultural identity in his students. Sero and his uncle act as the Sabbath goy’im for their Jewish next door neighbours: an old couple and their spinster daughter, Hannah. She, in turn, has feelings for Sero’s uncle. With growing state-sponsored antisemitism the situation becomes increasingly precarious for the Jewish family. Yet, as Jews, they have been stripped of their Syrian citizenship and are unable to leave the country. When Sero’s mother is accidentally shot by a Turkish border guard, they turn to Sero’s father to help Hannah flee using the dead wife’s papers. Years later, Sero is languishing with his family in an Iraqi refugee camp when Hannah comes looking for him.
Merits: Premiering at the Berlinale’s European Film Market, Mano Khalil’s film elicits superb performances from its professional and non-professional multilingual cast, some drawn from refugee camps in Iraqi Kurdistan. The quiet dignity of the villagers in the face of oppressive tyranny and corruption of Syrian government officials and Turkish border guards is deeply moving. Humor is skilfully mixed with pathos. The school play about Arab nationalism defeating the Zionist entity - with the children stabbing a rag doll adorned with the star of David - seems pathetic, but has tragic consequences for a local cat. Some incidents are probably drawn from Khalil’s own childhood in Syria, but anyone thinking any might be far-fetched could find similar experiences recounted in the second volume of Riad Sattouf’s unrelated memoir, The Arab of the Future. Amidst the suffering endured by Sero, his family and neighbours, this film has many gently funny moments and is emotionally uplifting. Neighbours is an important humanistic work and a stunning achievement.
Rating: Suitable for all audiences.
Programming considerations: There may be an opportunity for a joint human rights festival/organisation event.