Wedding in Galilee is a remarkable and unique cinematic endeavor – a Belgian-French co-production and one of the very few movies ever filmed in Israel to present a largely Arab perspective. This first feature for Nazareth-born Belgian director Michael Khleifi was filmed in the West Bank in 1987, shortly before that year’s escalation of tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians. The film provides rich returns for the viewer on multiple levels: as an anthropological introduction to Palestinian culture, as political commentary, as illustration of intergenerational conflict, and as human drama that is both vibrant and erotic.

The dramatic conflict is based on both the cultural conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and a generational conflict (in values and priorities) within the Palestinian community. The film opens with a visit by Abu Adel (played by Ali el Akili), the Mukhtar (patriarch or elder) of an occupied Palestinian village, to the Israeli military governor. The Mukhtar’s son is about to marry and the Mukhtar is determined that the wedding should be an elaborate, all-day, festive event in accordance with Palestinian tradition. The obstacle is that the village is under a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed by the occupying Israelis. The governor initially rejects Adel’s request, but is convinced by a savvy junior officer to instead offer a “compromise” – the curfew will be lifted for the wedding day on condition that the governor and his staff officers be invited to the wedding. The Israelis fully expect this “impossible” condition to be immediately rejected, but the Mukhtar surprises them by accepting it – his first priority being adherence to the traditions of his culture.

The Mukhtar returns to his village with the news that the ceremony can take place – as well as the condition to which he has agreed. The generational conflict now emerges. The young men of the village, including the groom-to-be (Nazih Akleh), care little about the traditions of their culture, having known only the new reality of occupation and conflict. They find the idea of Israelis attending their Arab wedding utterly humiliating. They are angry at the Mukhtar for agreeing to the requirement and immediately begin plotting to exploit the situation as an opportunity to kidnap the governor.

In this atmosphere of conflicting purposes, preparations for the wedding proceed. The film follows these sometimes exotic proceedings in great detail, such as the highly ritualized preparation of the lovely bride (Anna Achdian) by her attendants, painting a vivid picture of traditional Palestinian customs. There are giggling, flirtatious young girls, gossip galore, and the Mukhtar’s obsession that every detail of the wedding be perfect. Meanwhile, the angry young would-be terrorists continue to hatch their plan of attack -- rather ineffectually. The impression one gets of this Palestinian world is a society that is paternalistic on the surface but maternalistic in deeper reality. The two genders conduct their lives in parallel but largely separate spheres, with most of what’s meaningful occurring in the women’s domain. The Palestinian men are depicted as chauvinistic but somewhat ineffective and uninsightful. The Palestinian women are presented as passionate, attractive, intelligent, and superficially compliant but subtly in-charge.

The Israeli officers arrive, including one young and rather shy, female officer, and are seated at a table of their own. The female Israeli officer gets whisked away by the Palestinian women into their sphere of activities, in accordance with Palestinian customs but in conflict with her Israeli military status. As the wedding events unfold, she is gradually “made-over” by the Palestinian women from a somewhat masculine-appearing soldier into an almost ravishing Arab beauty, much to the chagrin of her fellow Israeli officers.

At one point during the proceedings, the Mukhtar is forced to ask for the help of the Israeli officers in recovering a valuable horse that was accidentally released by an Arab boy and which has now wandered into an Israeli mine-field. Once again we see that the Mukhtar’s priority is ensuring a successful wedding day and that he is willing to subordinate any animosity he may feel toward the occupiers to achieve that end. The angry young Arab men are further humiliated by both this cooperation with the hated Israeli occupiers and the increasing incompetence of their own plans for revenge.

As the wedding proceeds, we learn that, in Palestinian tradition, the wedding does not end until the guests have been shown proof that the marriage has been consummated – in the form of bloodied sheets. In the bed chamber, however, the groom finds himself impotent, ruminating as he is over the humiliation of hated Israelis in attendance at his wedding. The prospect of having to reveal his failure has inflamed the groom’s anger toward his father to such a heat that some violent retribution seems imminent. The resourceful bride, however, saves the day – and the marriage – by manually deflowering herself to produce the required evidence. We are left to understand that the resistance of young Arab men to occupation is ultimately an issue of manhood – that acquiescence to military dominance can only culminate in to both psychic and sexual impotence.

Wedding in Galilee has been widely acclaimed and recognized by awards. It won the prestigious Cannes Film Festival International Critics Award as well as the Grand Prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival, both in 1987. At the San Sebastian Film Festival, one of the jury members commented to Khleifi, “Your film is greater than any prize we could give it.” What the individual viewer is left with is more than a deeper understanding of the strength of the motivation behind resistance and terrorism. What remains most vivid from this film experience is an exquisite portrait of a fascinating culture – at once sensual and comic, vibrant and rich.

This film is in Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles. The use of non-professional actors adds to the cultural realism. The film is slowly paced, giving the viewer the sense of being an observant guest at the wedding

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age