Review of Only Human

Introduction

The Arab/Israeli conflict is serious stuff, a situation that has bred tension and divided opinion around the world. Generally the two different peoples also seem to hate each other with a passion, no middle ground seeming to appear between people that may not be so different underneath. It`s rare without something from this region appearing in the news during any given week, and generally it`s not fun news either. Not the stuff of comedy then, but here`s a Spanish film that attempts to open a bit of ground between the two sides.

Leni (Marian Aguilera) brings her fiancé Rafi (Guillermo Toledo) home to Israel to meet her family, which could be less nerve-wracking or tense if it wasn`t for the fact that he is Palestinian. Initially they withhold that fact as Rafi has an Israeli passport and he is accepted as an equal without reservation.

Leni`s family is your typical dysfunctional movie family; brother David (Fernando Ramallo) is an easily swayed young man whose latest fad is religion, sister Tania (Maria Butto) is a belly dancer who likes to pick up strangers and sleep with them whilst having a young daughter, Paula (Alba Molinera). Mother Gloria (Argentinean actress Norma Aleandro) is fed up with all of them and husband Ernesto (Mario Martin) who is missing from the family flat as he seems to work all the time. Wandering around and causing chaos in his wake is Dudu (Max Berliner), the grandfather who is ex-Israeli army and blind as a bat.

What starts as just a dysfunctional family piece descends into comedy gold as an accident with a huge tub of frozen soup leads to Rafi believing he has killed someone and acting really strangely in front of his prospective new in-laws. Leni tries to cover everything up in an attempt to ensure that her family don`t turn against him, whilst also getting anxious over just who the person hit by falling soup was. On top of this, a wandering duck rescued by David goes missing and leads to his temper fraying.

Video

Almost a theatrical piece, there are only a handful of locations used. Most of the action takes place within the family flat which looks like it hasn`t been decorated in 20 years. Still, there`s a warmth there albeit a slightly claustrophobic one…

Interesting choice of using only hand-held cameras that both allows a lot of actor freedom but also adds to the claustrophobia. To be honest I wouldn`t have known it was all hand-held if they hadn`t said as much in the extras…

Audio

Subtitled English with dialogue in Spanish. Subtitles are clear although I did find some difference between scenes when watching the featurette. Saying that, as I don`t speak Spanish at all that could just be changes to the script.

The main theme for this film, which also appears in the big dance set piece, is El Alem Allah by Arab artist Amr Diab. The CD that this appears on is owned by Israeli Tania, a bit of a masterstroke which I guess is an attempt to show that the love of music is universal despite the huge problems within that particular part of the world.

Features

Commentary with directors/writers Dominic Harari and Teresa Pelegri - the pair share some observations and some thinking behind the story. Interesting enough for a single viewing, no more than that though.

Trailer

Making Of - 15 minute featurette containing behind the scenes footage and interviews with most of the stars of the film.

Duck Epilogue (with spoken intro) - shows what happened to David`s duck. This was shot then cut from the film as it just wasn`t that funny according to the directors. I agree.

Everybody Dance (with spoken intro) - one of the big scenes in the film is the dance by belly dancer Tania and Rafi to Amr David`s El Alem Allah. Was originally a scene where all the characters danced in their respective locations at this point in the film. This scene was cut down to the two final characters as it felt too much like a natural film ending. I agree here too.

Conclusion

I needed a bit of comic relief after watching Seed Of Chucky and this was it. And it worked. It was a bit of strange set-up to start with, something you might expect in an ultra-serious drama, but it quickly descends into comic farce whilst the actors still play it all straight. On top of that you have one of the most memorable dance scenes in recent film with some quite sensual dancing from Maria Butto.

Some quality acting on show from an ensemble cast. Aguilera and Toledo are well matched as the two lovers from different cultures, a couple who came together far from home in Madrid and probably never even discussed the troubles in their homelands until the dramatic argument near the end of this film. This argument, which spills out in frustration after Leni both believes her father to be dead and that Rafi slept with her sister, neatly summarises the arguments between the two sides in a brief and concise manner. It`s clear where this relationship is heading, this is movie land after all.

Norma Aleandro plays the matriarchal figure superbly, balancing despair, suspicion and love for her family in equal measure dependent on the scene. Aleandro was apparently the first choice of the directors and well-liked by the cast. She is an accomplished actress who I`ve only seen previously in the Argentinean production The Official Story. Different type of role, but well played all the same.

Overall, I found this film both naïve and touching in how it deals with the inter-racial problems between peoples of Israel and Palestine. Obviously this is but a microcosm of the situation and more biased towards the Israeli side, but it works for me on a humane level as well as being very funny. It`s not hilarious or brimming with funny set pieces, but it`s a good film nonetheless and don`t let anyone tell you otherwise.