Coralknight Review of The Bubble

The Bubble (2006)

A reality trip into the minds of Tel Aviv's residents

[8/10 · 25 November 2016]

More poignant now than ever, Bubble gives the viewers a glimpse into the realities of residents of Israel's cultural, business and de facto capital, Tel Aviv. Away (supposedly) from the religious extremism of Jerusalem and other parts of Israel, Tel Aviv is home to a very visible young, counter-culture/hippster community that sees the current conflict as something that can be overcome with solidarity and commonality from both sides. In the case of the main characters, when a Palestinian, Ashraf is inserted into their clique through his relationship with Noah, he is immediately welcomed and helped by the rest of the group, becoming a poster-child for how and why Israelis should be reaching out (even begrudgingly...lest they be seen as hypocrites to their cause). But through several events, we see how disconnected this circle of friends and their ultra-liberal, partying lifestyle has become from people who live just across the border in the occupied territories (i.e. Ramala). While I found the Israeli characters to be believable, I simply did not find the conclusion of Ashraf's character to be...in fact I found it very cliché. As a Palestinian who was a) gay b) not religious c) not political d) had an affinity for Israeli life to the point where he did not speak Hebrew with an Arab accent, I simply did not believe the death of his sister would provoke him to become a suicide bomber...this was my major concern with the film. Meaning, Bubble's message is essentially (like most Israeli films) that behind every Palestinian, regardless of how sympathetic, is a suicide bomber waiting to happen. Good premise...bad execution. Still...high marks for originality for its time.