Rabia

It took me a few weeks to bring myself to watch this movie. Even though I knew it was a relatively short film, I read the back of the DVD case, got the gist of the plot, and accordingly avoided watching it. I basically dreaded such a direct reminder of suicide bombing and the many profound, multifaceted, and deep-rooted human failures such an act highlights.

I was impressed immediately by the film's cinematography and the physical beauty of Rabia, who in the first scene of the movie is duct-taping explosives to her waist. From this point on, we follow Rabia through her fateful day to her bombing target, a beach in Israel.

A series of flashbacks throughout the film serve to provide meaningful subtext to Rabia's act. Suicide bombing is arguably among the most distressing manifestations of the human gridlock presented by the Israel-Palestine question. Writer/Director Ali Hasan gives us purview into the suffering of Rabia's life that perhaps makes her dejected decision appear less arbitrary, less demonic, and more human.

The film reminds the audience of the innumerable previous conditions that contribute to any human act. It is worth watching; a viewer ought to be mentally prepared for the subject matter before pushing "play".