Synopsis:

Strangers tells the compelling tale of two young men, one Arab and one Jewish who are motivated by fear to overcome their racial prejudice and hatred when suddenly confronted with a menacing gang of skinheads.

Directed, Written, and Produced by: Erez Tadmor and Guy Nattiv. cast: Guy Loel, Sami Samir.
Duration: 7 minutes and 11 seconds
Date Shown: 1993


Review

I enjoyed watching the short film, “Strangers” and consider it a “must-see” film. This short film review imparts to viewers what I like about “Strangers.”The short film does not have dialogue and message was conveyed through facial expression, signs and symbols (of what each group represents). It is a story about a Jew and a Muslim, who has a racial division, and what brought them together.

The short film started with a man who stepped onto the train and sat in one of the seats near another man. At that point, the group to which each character belong to were being established. Both men looked at each other in an unfriendly manner. The man who entered the train and took a seat is a Jew. The viewer would guess this as he discreetly played with his necklace (sign of Israel). Meanwhile, the man already seated is a Muslim (as shown by the characters in the newspaper he is reading). Clearly, both men dislike each other from history (“Six-Day War,” June 5, 1967 to June 10, 1967, between Israel and the armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria).

Meanwhile, a third (3rd) group appeared in the train, the Nazis. The Nazi symbol was prominent when one of the men drew a Nazi sign on the Muslim newspaper. Another Nazi sign is shown at the back of the head of one of the Nazi. The Nazis disliked the Muslim man as they started harassing the Muslim man.

Only when the phone of the Jew rang did the Nazis stopped harassing the Muslim man. At that point, it was very clear that the man is Jew since his ringtone was Jewish (it would have been nicer if the ringtone were shorter). From World War 2 history, Nazis also dislike the Jews. The Jew man knew that the Nazis would harass him next. He made eye contact with the Muslim man to run. Both Arab and Jew ran avoiding the Nazis.

I enjoyed watching this short film as the story unfolds and each character’s group was slowly revealed. The suspense grew as I watched their facial expressions (along hearing the background sounds).

Over-all, this short film was professionally made. It has a good story, the actors performed well, and it is very well produced. Though the story is simple, it made a profound impact.