Neil Turner A woman residing in the Golan Heights wishes to marry a Syrian. This would seem only a matter of concern to friends and family, but this is the Middle East. Because of the animosity between Israel and Syria, once the marriage takes place the bride is forbidden from ever visiting her friends and family in the Golan Heights. This entire film takes place on the day of the marriage but within those twelve short hours, we are treated to a look at a complex yet comic, tragic yet uplifting view of a most interesting family. The father is a noted leader against the occupation of the Golan Heights and has served time in prison because of his political beliefs. The older son has been rejected by his father and the community because he moved to Russia and married a Russian doctor. A younger son is a somewhat comic wheeler-dealer whose business practices are a little more than shady. The elder daughter is a fiercely independent woman married to a traditional man. The bride-to-be is a beautiful, sad woman previously married to a bad man who is going into an arranged marriage with a Syrian man she has never met.Even though the title is The Syrian Bride, the film is really focused upon the elder daughter and her striving for a better psychological life for herself and her two daughters. Evelyn Kaplun who plays the elder daughter is an extraordinary actress - so strong - yet tender. Her strength and tenderness is the keystone of the film, and it is she who is able to mediate all of the conflicts of her relatives and the government in an attempt at happiness for her younger sister. It is an irony of the political climate of the film that she would probably not be able to be as independent and autonomous had she not been living in an area occupied by Israel as she surely would have been stifled by a Syrian society that is more restrictive of women.There's an interesting sidelight to Ms. Kaplun's performance in that in the DVD special features, there is an interview with her real parents both whom appear to be very conservative. You see a very nervous Ms. Kaplun sitting between her parents while her father goes on about how his daughter is involved in a "forbidden" profession. I'm sure the theme of the film hit very much at home with her.The bride played with low-keyed brilliance by Clara Khoury actually represents the untenable political situation of the area. She never is quite able to escape from her overall sadness and sits almost emotionless throughout the film while all levels of chaos take place about her. Ms. Khoury in her "emotionless" performance reveals all the harsh, raw emotions of the situation.The Syrian Bride gives us a sobering picture of nice, ordinary people trying to survive and find happiness within systems of government so involved in hate and ideology that they actually punish rather than sustain their own citizens.

lmahayni As an Arab-American who spent her childhood in the shadow of the Isreali occupied Golan Heights, I found many memories from my childhood coming back. How ridiculous the most simple task can become when politics enters the picture! Anyone who wants personal insight into the Isreali-Arab conflict, should watch this. It's about as realistic as it can get. This seemingly simple tale is fraught with all the obvious and subtle problems of a family and a community living under the restrictions of international politics. Whenever it starts to seem trite, it will surprise you with some detail or twist that reveals a depth that is never allowed to show on the surface. The plot is simple: a bride gets ready for her wedding... Not so simple, apparently.Is the policeman a heartless occupying force? Is the father an iceberg? Is a border officer capable of setting policy for his entire Nation? Can the hopes of one woman survive this emotional day? You'll explore these questions while you become attached to the characters engaged in this drama. The acting is seamless, the scripting spare, and the production value is appropriate to the story being told.The bottom line is that you should see this movie. If you watch it on DVD, be sure to watch the extras. The film was shot in Arabic and Hebrew (with a smattering of French and English), with English subtitles. Sometimes the subtitles flash by too quickly; but that's my only "major" complaint.

canadamelody I want people to know the following:The link to the Amazon.ca DVD brings you to the US issue DVD being sold on Amazon Canada regardless of the fact that the best quality presentation of this movie is the Canadian issue. Go to the main home page of Amazon Canada then enter THE SYRIAN BRIDE it will take you to two issues. The DVD with the YELLOW cover is the better Canadian issue the one with the BLUE cover is the American one. This movie is so wonderful everyone should own it. Get the Canadian DVD it is beautiful and if you replace the black DVD box with a super clear DVD box you can take advantage of its lovely double-sided bilingual cover. H S Marks Manchester UK.

Ed Uyeshima This deceptively modest 2004 film lingers in the memory because of the bigger sociopolitical context that Israeli director Eran Riklis provides in setting his story in the Golan Heights, an area occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War in 1967. Over the course of one day, the story revolves around an extended Druze family in the northern village of Majdal Shams where they are preparing for the wedding of youngest daughter Mona. The catch is that she has never met the groom, a distant relative who happens to be a big Syrian TV personality in Damascus. It sounds like the source of comedy hijinks, but there is a sad undertone because once married, Mona officially becomes Syrian and cannot return home to her family.The intended couple, however, is not the focus as much as the family dynamics that become ignited by the wedding. The patriarch is Hammed, a political activist on probation, and he has two sons - Hattem, who has been cast out by the conservative religious cabal for leaving the country and marrying a Russian woman, and Marwan, who provides the comedy relief as a womanizing salesman. The glue of the family, however, is provided by eldest sister Amal, who defiantly stands up to the men in her family and wants to get her bachelor's degree in Haifa. The first hour deals mainly with the standard pre-wedding confusion, though it happens to take place on the same day that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father, but the last half-hour takes place entirely at the Israel-Syria border crossing where the officials from both countries refuse to cooperate with a negotiating Red Cross worker in allowing Mona to enter Syria.With its primarily somber tone, this is no Middle Eastern derivative of "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding", but Riklis and co-screenwriter Suha Arraf supply genuine warmth toward the characters and bring immediacy and credibility to the personal situation at hand. The acting is solid with Hiam Abbass the standout as Amal. There are nice turns by Makram Khoury as Hammed, his real-life daughter Clara as Mona, Eyad Sheety as Hattem and Ashraf Barhom who steals scenes as the gap-toothed Marwan. Special mention should be made for Michael Wiesweg's expert cinematography which perfectly captures the mostly sun-baked terrain. This is a case where the 2006 DVD package from Koch Lorber is invaluable for the context it provides to the movie's story. The making-of featurette, an extensive interview with Riklis and his accompanying commentary all help considerably in understanding the political situation that both drives and reflects the wedding preparation complications. Also included is the original trailer as well as the U.S. version.