The Syrian Bride

By MATTIAS FREY | January 19, 2006

2.5 Stars

THE SYRIAN BRIDE Too much finger-pointing, not enough treasuring personalities.

The iconic image from Eran Riklis’s nuptial allegory is title character Mona crouched alone in a wedding dress, legally unable to move from the small patch of land between the Golan Heights and Syria. Mona’s patchwork Druze family aren’t helping. Her father disowned brother Hattem for marrying a Russian, sister Amal bickers with her tyrannical husband, and shady brother Marwan is intent on womanizing his way through the female Red Cross contingent. To top it off, Mona’s marriage has been arranged to a goofy Damascus sit-com star she’s never met. Chock full of dramatic irony, this bartered-bride story laces family dramedy with Kafka-esque commentary on bureaucratic recalcitrance from both Israel and Syria. The Syrian Bride delivers solid ensemble acting and an affectionate prospect of the straggly terrain and architecture. But it wastes time pointing fingers instead of treasuring its potentially rich personalities, thereby reproducing the political folly it attempts to criticize.