In Between (2016)

I've seen a few movies set in Israel, invariably with a religiopolitical focus. But Omar had been the only one I'd seen with a Palestinian main character, until now. Thankfully, IB has nothing to do with conflict between Muslims and Jews.

OK, there's no single main character here: Three young Palestinian women in modern Tel Aviv split the screen time pretty evenly. Layla is a criminal defense lawyer of Islamic descent, clearly too rebellious to be devout. Roommate Salma, a deejay, wears a cross but also is not devout, and her more traditional parents would hate to learn which way she swings. Only the newcomer to the apartment, Nour, expresses piety, as evidenced by her hijab, which doesn't stop her from studying computer science. The others' casual ways put pressure on her to loosen up.

All three have trouble with men. In Salma's case, it's her oppressive father, tho her mother isn't in her corner either. Layla's conflict with her (potential) boyfriend is a little more complicated, but it amounts to another question of how much he plans to dominate her. Nour has the worst of it, with a fiance who seems friendly at first but always rubs me the wrong way and, sure enough, cannot abide her becoming anything like her roomies.

This paragraph contains spoilers of the sort that many viewers might want to know in advance: Nour's fiance rapes her. And I have mixed feelings about what happens afterward. On one hand, she and her friends recognize the act for what it is. OTOH, they don't send him to prison or give him a punishment out of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. They're content to have tricked and blackmailed him into calling the wedding off and losing the respect of Nour's father. (Evidently, it wouldn't turn out as good for Nour if she had been the one to refuse.)

I guess that's more realistic than an otherwise more satisfying denouement. IB does aim for credibility. Among other things, this leads me to consider that all the bossy/abusive men may not see themselves as unusual or wrong in the slightest. They probably came from a culture that expects such behavior of them. Granted, they do sometimes sin even by their own sights, but it points to a likely snag in bringing the region into our idea of the 21st century.

From what I can tell, IB didn't enjoy a wide release in the U.S. I suspect that it would have limited appeal here, partly because there isn't much of an overarching plot and partly because it projects girl power only to a point. It does get high scores on major rating sites and, unsurprisingly, has incurred anger from some Islamic authorities. You might check it out for the sake of supporting a certain side of the cultural divide. Just don't get your hopes too high for achieving the emotions you want to feel.