“An elephant is hiding behind a pole. No one can see it. How is that possible? Because it’s well hidden.” This joke told by one of the protagonists of Once Upon a Time in Gaza (and which makes him really laugh even though his interlocutor doesn’t understand it) by brothers Arab and Tarzan Nasser, unveiled in the Un Certain Regard programme at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, illustrates rather well the kind of very singular and subtle humour of the Palestinian filmmaking duo, already appreciated for their films Dégradé [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Venice Orizzonti in 2020). Conceived as a soothing painkiller, their cinema nevertheless addresses all the heavy and exhausting issues oppressing daily existence in that region of the world, but with great narrative freedom that they deploy this time in several dimensions, under their favourite form which favours simplicity at a very human scale.

“You are different from all my other friends.” We are in 2007 in Gaza (which is then undergoing a blockade) in the footsteps of a duo surviving the shortages thanks to a makeshift traffic of tranquilisers based on stollen medical prescriptions and taxi deliveries to customers by Osama (Majd Eid), in pitas prepared by a small falafel shop managed by the young Yahya (Nader Abd Alhay). The former, hardened but affectionate, leads the way while the latter, a little depressive, dreams of getting the authorization to leave the territory for the first time in his life in order to see his family an hour drive away. But corrupt cop Abou Sami (Ramzi Maqdisi), who wants to turn Osama into a mole, will disrupt the whole situation… And two years later (just after the Israeli military operation Cast lead), Yahya finds himself cast by chance in the main role of the film The Rebel, “the first action film made in Gaza,” written by the local culture minister. Having to embody “a national symbol”, “a martyr”, “a Rambo”, “a real hero”, he learns his acting craft on a very low budget, hectic shoot, but soon Abou Sami, now a major, returns on the scene…

“You think we’re in a film?” From the classic thread of a genre plot (traffic, arrest, interrogation, threats, vengeance) whose modern western touches (including a face-off) are amplified by an excellent score signed Amine Bouhafa, Once Upon a Time in Gaza weaves all the complexity of the general situation in the enclave. References, suggestive details (newspapers wrapped around pitas, news on TV, etc.), thevery political discourse of the film within the film, visceral reactions on set related to how close the scenes are to the reality of the conflict: the Nasser brothers create multiple mirror effects on the line between true and false interacting with the main plot. This highly precise script work is hidden under a sincere affection for the characters and a contained yet constant irony that allows the filmmakers to explore the highly flammable terrain of politics without ever getting burned, in an off-beat type of resistance that isn’t fooled by anything (“don’t play with your weapons”) but says a lot.

Once Upon a Time in Gaza was produced by Les Films du Tambour (France), Jordan Pioneers Multimedia (Jordan) and Slate Fims (United Kingdom) and co-produced by Made in Palestine Project, Riva Filmproduktion (Germany), Red Balloon (Germany), Rise Studio (United Arab Emirates) and Ukbar Filmes (Portugal). The Party Film Sales is handling international sales.