Makram Khoury Movies
In this HBO miniseries from directors Jim O'Hanlon and Alex Holmes (who also co-wrote and executive produced), the events of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's life are retold from a perspective never before seen - the ever-shrinking inner circle of his once-mighty regime. The story opens in 1979, as Hussein (Igal Naor) seizes control of Iraq in a bloody coup. Later resting comfortably in his opulent palaces as he exerts his control over his cabinet and his people, the powerful tyrant clings to power for nearly twenty-five years. During that time, not even his family, including his first wife Sajida (Shohreh Aghdashloo), his oldest son Uday (Philip Arditti), his half-brother Barzan Ibrihim (Said Taghmaoui), or his mistress (and ultimately second wife) Samira (Christine Stephen-Daly) would be immune to his wrath. By speaking to the very people who were closest to Hussein during his lifetime O'Hanlon and Holmes are able to look past the politics, propaganda, and self-interests of outsiders to offer an unbiased glimpse into the life of one of the 20th Century's most controversial figures. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Igal Naor, Makram Khoury, (more)
Widow and empty nester Salma Zidane lives on the Palestinian West Bank, in a little house flanked by lemon trees planted by her great grand parents. Unfortunately, when the Israeli minister of defense builds a house adjacent to her own, her lemon trees are deemed a security risk. Salma hires a lawyer to prevent the powerful man from having her ancestral trees removed, but the odds are stacked against her, and to make matters worse, she begins to fall in love with her lawyer. Things seem bleak, but it looks like hope could shine in from an unexpected source, when the minister's neglected wife develops sympathy for Salma's plight. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hiam Abbass, Ali Suliman, (more)
Much as Steven Spielberg followed 1993's special-effects blockbuster Jurassic Park with a far more downbeat and personal project later the same year, Schindler's List, in 2005 after tearing up the box office with War of the Worlds the director closed out the year with a powerful and thoughtful drama about the human costs of international terrorism. The 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, were supposed to be a peaceful gathering of outstanding athletes from around the world, but on September 5, the games took a sinister turn when eight masked Palestinian terrorists invaded the Olympic village, killing two Israeli athletes and abducting nine others. The kidnappers demanded safe passage out of Germany in addition to the release of Arab prisoners in Israeli and German prisons, but when they arrived at the Munich airport they were met by German police and military forces, and in the melee that followed, all nine hostages were killed. In the wake of the killings, the Israeli government gave Mossad, the nation's intelligence agency, a special assignment -- to track down and eliminate the Palestinians responsible for the death of the Israeli athletes. A young and idealistic Mossad agent (Eric Bana) is assigned to the four-man unit created to wipe out the Olympic terrorists, but while he believes in serving his country, as their bloody work goes on he begins to buckle under the weight of his work and wonders if he can morally justify his nation's acts of revenge. Munich also stars Geoffrey Rush, Daniel Craig, Mathieu Kassovitz, and Ciarán Hinds. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, (more)
- 2005
A 20-year-old American Israeli decides to move back to Israel and reconnect with his roots, only to be institutionalized in a mental-health facility constructed on the grounds of a Palestinian village that was massacred by a Jewish militia back in 1948. David Adler (Itay Tiran) has moved back to Israel, but the joy of his homecoming is short-lived when he is committed to a mental institution and injected with a chemo-technological drug at the behest of his father -- a Holocaust survivor and famous musician. Later, blind mental patient Muselmann, who serves as a conduit between the worlds of the living and the dead, implores the troubled David to listen to the ghosts that have long been rumored to dwell in the hospital corridors. It seems that the spirit of a ten-year-old girl holds the secret to a riddle that could bring an end to the continual cycle of violence that sweeps their land, but only when she finds eternal rest will that secret finally be revealed. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Itay Tiran, Clara Khoury, (more)
A Jewish-American woman still reeling from her breakup with her Spanish-Israeli fiancée hits the road with a middle-aged Israeli woman, who is looking to collect the 30,000-dollar debt owed to her by her husband's former business partner, and a Palestinian woman, who claims to know the elusive moneyman's whereabouts, in this road-trip drama from Kippur director Amos Gitai. In her efforts to escape the painful memory of her breakup with former fiancée Julio (Aki Avni), Rebecca (Natalie Portman) agrees to accompany Hanna (Hanna Laslo) on her arduous journey through Israel to the Free Zone -- a tax- and customs-free region where those from countries at war with one another amiably buy and sell cars -- in hopes of collecting a large debt owed to her by her ailing husband's business partner known only as "The American." When Hanna and Rebecca finally arrive in the Free Zone only to discover that Hanna's contact and money have mysteriously gone missing, a Palestinian woman named Leila (Hiam Abbass) agrees to lead the skeptical Hanna to both "The American" and Hanna's rightly due cash. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natalie Portman, Hanna Laslo, (more)
A family deals with the typical anxieties of a wedding day while also confronting the political turmoil of the Middle East in this drama, a collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers. Hammed (Makram J. Khoury) is a leading political figure in Majdal Shams, a Druze community that has been under Israeli occupation since the late '60s. Years ago, Hammed arranged for his daughter Mona (Clara Khoury) to marry Tallel (Derar Sliman), who has since become a successful actor in Syria. Hammed has gathered the family together to see Mona off, but the occasion is a bittersweet one -- given the combative relationship between Israel and Syria, once Mona crosses the border with her husband, it's unlikely she will ever be able to return. Hammed's oldest son, Hattem (Eyad Sheety), comes back from Russia, where he now lives with his wife, but his father still refuses to forgive him for leaving the land of his birth. Marwan (Ashraf Barhoum), a younger son, is a businessman living in Italy who uses his visit home as an opportunity to visit Jeanne (Julie-Anne Roth), an American United Nations representative he's been dating. And daughter Amal (Hiam Abbass) helps her sister Mona deal with the stress and details of her big day as she struggles to live as a modern woman while married to Amin (Adnan Tarabshi), who wants his spouse to follow a more traditional path. Makram J. Khoury was ideally cast as Hammed in at least one respect -- he's the real life father of Clara Khoury, who plays his screen daughter Mona. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hiam Abbass, Makram Khoury, (more)
In this religious drama concerning the struggle between science and faith, Olivia Williams plays Sharon Golban, an Israeli archeologist who discovers a skeleton within a tomb in Jerusalem. After an intensive study and the accumulation of more information, the bones begin to resemble the remains of Jesus Christ. At this news, the Vatican decides to send a young priest, Rev. Matt Gutierrez (Antonio Banderas), to investigate the problem and make sure the scientist's findings do not cause a stir. Meanwhile, a Palestinian shopkeeper (Makram J. Khoury) is caught between the church and Israeli society due to his finding of the bones: His basement led to the discovery. All of this poses a dilemma for the young reverend, who is forced to re-evaluate his own religion due to this new development's rewriting of the story of Jesus, which states that when his followers arrived at the tomb after crucifixion, it was empty. Written and directed by Jonas McCord, The Body is based on a novel by Richard Ben Sapir. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Banderas, Olivia Williams, (more)
- 1997
An orphan raised on the dubious kindness of his neighbors, Mabruq is considered the village idiot, tolerated, but not loved. He is secretly in love with Jamilah, a young woman held in similar regard because she has not spoken since witnessing a traumatic event as a child. All business in the village is controlled by a tyrannical muktahr, while the region is controlled by Israeli soldiers. The corrupt village leader does all he can to keep the Israelis pleased so when they announce that someone has been counterfeiting work permits, the muktahr is quick to find someone to blame. The leader's friend and handyman Mahmmud disagrees with the muktahr's scapegoat tactics and so decides to do his own investigation to find the real crook. This ultimately leads to the mysterious death of the muktahr's son. Mahmmud is blamed for the death and escapes from town. Poor Mabruq, who felt that Mahmmud was his only friend, is devastated. Meanwhile the muktahr, seeing that his seething villagers may take actions that could destroy peace, is forced to make a difficult decision. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Muhammad Bakri, Suheil Haddad, (more)
Based on the novel A Forbidden Love by Chayym Zeldis, this drama tells of a young Jewish Israeli soldier who meets up with his childhood Arabic friend and the two fall in love. Unfortunately, the couple must face a number of tragic circumstances as they attempt to be together in a religiously prejudiced and war-torn country. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrian Pasdar, Cecilia Peck, (more)
