2019 ReelAbilities Film Festival presents Muhi: Generally Temporary (2017),
ReelAbilities Film Festival presents Muhi: Generally Temporary (2017), a film directed by Rina Castelnuovo and Tamir Elterman, is a character-driven documentary about an empathetic, sweet-natured, young Palestinian boy, born in Gaza, who has spent most of his young life in an Israeli hospital receiving treatment and care for a life-threatening autoimmune disorder. Gaza, a self-governing Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean sea which borders Egypt and Israel has been under an Israeli-led embargo since the election of Hamas (a Palestinian Sunni-Islamist fundamentalist organization) to power in 2006. Israel and Gaza have been caught up in a game of war and Muhi’s story embodies the conflict. The documentary is a story where innocence meets conflict, entangled politics, misery but more importantly, humanity and love. The film is in Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles.
Muhi’s vital medical care has made it impossible for him to leave Israel. To save his life, doctors have had to amputate his arms and feet and his survival relies on continued medical care he can only receive in Israel due to the embargo on Gaza. Since infancy, he has been raised in an Israeli hospital nurtured and cared for by Jewish medical staff and volunteers, and his caregiver, his grandfather, Abu Naim. Since their arrival, Muhi and his grandfather are not permitted to leave the hospital grounds for security regulations. As he gets older, Muhi begins to realize that he is caught up in a less than ideal situation which he doesn’t fully understand and intensely feels the pain of separation from his family. His grandfather has shielded him from the animosity shared between Palestinian Arabs and Jewish Israelis.
The documentary follows the narrative of his young life from the age of four to his seventh birthday exploring the narrative of his life in the style of cinema verite against his back story and that of his grandfather within the harsh reality and the politics of the Israeli/Gaza conflict. His birthday parties stitch the film into a cohesive structure punctuated by sporadic family visits as he develops, grows, and adapts to his prostheses and hospital life. Some scenes are not only difficult to watch but heart-wrenching such as the events that lead to his uncle Nasrallah’s death. But, there are many uplifting scenes such as seeing Muhi walk with his prostheses, take it upon himself to clean the hospital, and attend school to name a few. Although it shies-away-from exploring the root causes of the conflict, it’s a balanced documentary presenting Muhi’s life in Israel juxtaposed against that of his immediate family in Gaza.
It’s a poignant documentary revealing the hardships and struggles of his young dramatic life growing up within the confines of a medical institution and protected from the harsh realities of the conflict. The filmmakers have succeeded in creating an intimate portrait of Muhi, a resilient, sweet-natured child who loves indiscriminately his Jewish-Israeli caregivers and his Palestinian Arab family and his devoted grandfather, and who because of his medical needs must remain in Israel to survive and thrive, a country at war with his country, and where he is discovering his identity as a Muslim outside the politics of discourse.
The documentary is well-crafted shining a light on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict from the perspective of a young child and is deserving of your attention. Do see it for you won’t be disappointed.
Muhi: Generally Temporary will be playing at Al Green Theatre on Sat, Jun 1 at 7PM for the Reelabilities Film Festival
Tickets for Reelabilities Film Festival can be purchased here
