Omar (2013 film)

Omar is a Palestinian baker who frequently climbs the West Bank barrier to visit his sweetheart, Nadia, a high-school girl whom he intends to marry. Omar and his childhood friends, Tarek and Amjad, have been practising attacks on soldiers. Caught in one of his crossings, Omar is beaten and humiliated by Israeli soldiers. The three later make a night time attack on a checkpoint, and Amjad acts as a sniper in fatally shooting an Israeli soldier.

Later, Omar and his friends are pursued by the Israeli authorities, who have been tipped off about him; Omar is captured. When he enters prison, he is tricked into incriminating himself by an agent named Rami who poses as a fellow prisoner. After being tortured by Rami to reveal who shot the Israeli soldier, Omar is facing life in prison. He secures his release in exchange for aiding in the detention of Tarek, whom Rami says he believes killed the soldier.

After release, Omar is suspected of being a collaborator and is stigmatized. His situation is worsened because Nadia is Tarek's sister. When Omar delays in helping with Tarek's capture, he is pursued by the Israelis. He is arrested again when a planned operation is betrayed, which results in the deaths of four militants. Other prisoners attack him as they believe he is a traitor, and he makes a second deal with Rami. He confronts Amjad, who admits betraying the other two. Amjad tells Omar that Nadia is pregnant with his child, which dishonours both Amjad and her. The Israelis used that fact to blackmail Amjad.

Omar forces Amjad to confess to Tarek, who tries to kill him. In the ensuing struggle, Tarek is killed when his gun accidentally goes off. With Rami's help, Omar and Amjad hide their involvement in his death.

Two years later, Omar visits Nadia and discovers Amjad was lying about having had an affair with her. But she married Amjad and they now have two children. She still loves Omar, and tells him that she had written a letter to him before her marriage, but Amjad did not deliver it.

Rami visits Omar to try to coerce him into killing a leading militant. Omar promises his assistance in capturing the new ringleader of the Jerusalem Brigade and, in exchange for a gun, he promises to tell Rami who had killed the soldier years ago at the checkpoint. Omar tells the ringleader about Amjad but gets agreement to allow Omar to deal with his old friend. Omar meets again with Rami, who is with three other Israeli agents, and is given the promised gun. He quickly turns it against Rami, killing him. {{cite news|last1=SCOTT|first1=A. O.|title=In 'Omar,' the West Bank Is a Backdrop for Betrayal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/movies/in-omar-the-west-bank-is-a-backdrop-for-betrayal.html?_r=0|access-date=6 November 2015|date=20 November 2014|archive-date=13 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313140329/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/movies/in-omar-the-west-bank-is-a-backdrop-for-betrayal.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}

• Adam Bakri as Omar
• Waleed Zuaiter as Rami
• Leem Lubany as Nadia
• Eyad Hourani as Tarek
• Samer Bisharat as Amjad
• Tarik Kopty as Tarek's father

Director Hany Abu-Assad describes putting together the idea of the film in one night, writing the structure of the story in four hours and writing the script in four days.{{cite web|last=Tartaglione|first=Nancy|url=https://deadline.com/2013/12/foreign-language-oscar-preview-a-long-list-of-strong-contenders-for-such-a-shortlist-of-possibles-652704/|title=Foreign Language Oscar Preview A Long List Of Strong Contenders For Such a Shortlist Of Possibles Nominees|publisher=Deadline London|date=15 December 2013|access-date=17 April 2020|archive-date=9 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709175159/http://www.deadline.com/2013/12/foreign-language-oscar-preview-a-long-list-of-strong-contenders-for-such-a-shortlist-of-possibles/|url-status=live}} After a year of securing finance, filming began at the end of 2012 and took place mainly in Nazareth Nablus and the Far'a refugee camp.{{cite web|last=Ritman|first=Alex|url=http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/film/hany-abu-assad-presents-a-direct-hit-from-the-west-bank-at-diff|title=Hany Abu-Assad presents a direct hit from the West Bank at DIFF|publisher=The National|date=3 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140210121653/http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/film/hany-abu-assad-presents-a-direct-hit-from-the-west-bank-at-diff|archive-date=10 February 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://vimeo.com/79587305|title=AFI Fest: Hany Abu-Assad talks about making of Omar|date=12 November 2013|access-date=12 January 2014|archive-date=24 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224022954/https://vimeo.com/79587305|url-status=live}}

Waleed Zuaiter managed to secure the $2m budget for the film, 5% of which came from Enjaaz, the post-production fund of Dubai International Film Festival and the remainder from Palestinians.{{cite news|author=Asfour, Nana|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/22/omar-film-palestine-oscar-hany-abu-assad|title=Omar: the Palestinian Oscar nominee made amid panic and paranoia|work=The Guardian|date=22 February 2014|access-date=23 February 2014|archive-date=8 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190908040505/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/22/omar-film-palestine-oscar-hany-abu-assad|url-status=live}}

Adopt Films acquired all U.S. rights to Omar after its premier at the Cannes Film Festival.{{cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/adopt-films-to-distribute-palestines-oscar-bid-omar|title=Adopt Films To Distribute Palestine's Oscar Bid 'Omar'|work=indiewire.com|date=3 October 2013|access-date=20 February 2014|archive-date=13 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013230506/http://www.indiewire.com/article/adopt-films-to-distribute-palestines-oscar-bid-omar|url-status=live}} UK distribution rights was acquired by Soda Pictures{{cite news|url=http://www.screendaily.com/news/soda-nabs-london-film-festival-duo/5062548.article|title=Soda nabs London Film Festival duo|work=ScreenDaily|date=6 October 2013|access-date=17 April 2014|archive-date=19 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419013550/http://www.screendaily.com/news/soda-nabs-london-film-festival-duo/5062548.article|url-status=live}} and distribution rights in France was sold to Pretty Pictures.{{cite web|url=http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/pretty-pictures-acquires-hany-abu-assads-omar/5054619.article|title=Pretty Pictures acquires Hany Abu-Assad's Omar|publisher=|access-date=30 November 2016|archive-date=1 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201083048/http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/pretty-pictures-acquires-hany-abu-assads-omar/5054619.article|url-status=live}}

Omar has an approval rating of 90% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 87 reviews, and an average rating of 7.46/10.The website's critical consensus states, "Twisty and riveting, Omar is a well-directed crime drama with uncommon depth".{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/omar|title=Omar (2014)|via=www.rottentomatoes.com|access-date=10 October 2020|archive-date=24 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924232550/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/omar|url-status=live}} It also has a score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/omar|title=Omar|via=www.metacritic.com|access-date=10 October 2020|archive-date=30 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030172401/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/omar|url-status=live}}

• List of submissions to the 86th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Palestinian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|2852406|Omar}}
• {{Rotten Tomatoes|omar|Omar}}

{{Hany Abu-Assad}}

{{Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Film}}

{{Palestinian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omar}}

Category:2013 films

Category:2013 drama films

Category:Palestinian drama films

Category:2010s Arabic-language films

Category:Films directed by Hany Abu-Assad

Category:Israeli–Palestinian conflict films