GRADE: A-
Despite the perception of America as the land of milk and honey, the shining city on the hill that takes in the tired, poor and huddled masses of the world or whatever other cliché one might apply, immigrating to the United States is tough. “Amreeka” deftly explores the difficulties faced by and imposed on those who attempt to make the land of opportunity their own.
“Amreeka” is the story of Muna, a Palestinian woman who comes to the United States with her teenage son Fadi around March 2003, just as the United States invade Iraq and anti-Arab tensions are at their highest levels since 9/11. Full of potential political debate, the film downplays the stance it nevertheless takes in favor of focusing on ordinary people trying to contend with extraordinary levels of ignorance and prejudice as they attempt to go about their day-to-day lives.
Contrasting the “fresh off the boat” attitudes of Muna and Fadi are her sister Raghda, brother-in-law Nabeel and their children, who have been in the United States for 15 years. While Muna and Fadi are homesick and confused, Raghda is cynical and distraught, constantly trying to force her fully American daughters to remember their Palestinian heritage. More than anything else, “Amreeka” is about coming to terms with what it means to be an Arab living in small-town America.
Say what you want about its politics, but there is little denying the level of truth conveyed by “Amreeka” about the Arab experience in the United States in the months around the invasion of Iraq. Even those who disagree with the film will have a hard time arguing with the situations and circumstances that it so deftly explores without ever becoming heavy-handed.
The ideal balance of humor, tragedy, homesickness and just a little bit of triumph that director Cherien Dabis creates surrounds the audience with real people in realistic situations. While uniquely Arab and Palestinian, the film echoes the immigrant experience in the United States for the last 400 years. Anyone who has at one point felt ostracized, misunderstood or out of place will empathize with the well-educated Muna forced to work at White Castle and her bright, popular teenage son who must contend with racist bullies who do not understand or even attempt to learn anything about him.
“Amreeka” is as honest as they come, never overdramatic but simply telling a story that thousands of people have lived. Those who know nothing of the immigrant or Arab experience in the United States will come away with an appreciation of what they go through and where they come from. “Amreeka” is an utterly human story so deeply rooted in reality that it is nearly indistinguishable from it.
The film hit Los Angeles and New York City theaters on Sept. 4. You can see “Amreeka” at select theaters in the District starting Sept. 25.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
