'Borrowed Identity' looks at the meaning of being Arab, Israeli, and both

We hear so much about the uneasy relationship across the Israeli-Palestinian divide that we tend to forget that fully 20 percent of Israeli citizens are Arab.

What does it mean to be an Israeli Arab (or Arab Israeli)? Is that an identity - or a recipe for inner discord?

These are just some of the tantalizing questions raised in the Israeli import A Borrowed Identity, an extraordinary coming-of-age story about Eyad, a Palestinian boy from a small village who grows up to become a cosmopolitan Israeli.

In parts riotously funny and deeply tragic, the film is the latest offering from celebrated filmmaker Eran Riklis (Lemon Tree, The Syrian Bride), who adapted it from an autobiographical novel by Israeli Arab author Sayed Kashua.

We first meet Eyad as a scrappy 10-year-old (child actor Razi Gabareen) in the late 1970s. Precocious, curious, and energetic, he loves to play cowboys and Indians (or "Arafat and Sharon" as locals call it), solve word puzzles, and curl up next to his grandmother and listen to her talk of the old days. And he grows up thinking of Israeli and American soldiers as the bad guys.

When the first Gulf War breaks out, his family assembles on the roof to cheer Saddam Hussein's Scud missiles as they strike Israeli cities.

Things change radically when Eyad becomes one of a very few Arabs ever to be accepted by a prestigious boarding school in Jerusalem. Intense culture shock slowly gives way to an equally intense desire to fit in, and Eyad quickly assimilates with the Jewish kids.

He even begins dating a Jewish girl named Naomi (Daniel Kitsis).

It's a relationship that's strictly forbidden in Naomi's social circles.

"Tell me you're a lesbian," her mom once tells her. "Tell me you're a drug addict or you have cancer. But don't ever tell me you're with an Arab."

Eyad, who is played as a teen by the passionate young actor Tawfeek Barhom, never loses sight of his roots. In a remarkable scene, he critiques the harsh portrayal of Arabs in Israeli literature.

Eventually, he finds a kindred soul when he volunteers to help give home care to a Jewish teenager (Michael Moshonov) who suffers from MS. Both outsiders, both avid readers, and both fans of British pop bands, they hide away from a world they find hostile and intolerant.

While it traverses a seriously fraught emotional landscape, A Borrowed Identity never strikes a false note or gives in to cheap sentimentality. It even ends with a nifty plot twist.

This is a truly unforgettable film.

Directed by Eran Riklis. With Tawfeek Barhom, Daniel Kitsis,

Ali Suliman, Yael Abecassis, Michael Moshonov. Distributed

by Strand Releasing.

Running time: 1 hour, 44 mins.

Parent's guide: Not rated (some scenes of violence, sexuality, nudity).

Playing at: Ritz at the Bourse.

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