Movie Review - The Attack

The Attack ***½ ( R) If you want to be both enlightened and bummed about the persistence of terrorism, this subtitled drama by Lebanese director and co-writer Ziad Doueiri, shot partly in Israel, should do the trick. An Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv is receiving the highest honor in his field by the Israeli medical community. Before he can fully enjoy it, he finds himself treating a spate of casualties from the latest suicide bombing. Even worse, his wife of 15 years may have been the bomber. He had no inkling of her having any such plans, or even the capacity for any mild form of violence.

The innocent doctor finds himself under suspicion and ostracized. Even those who were friends and colleagues for years have a hard time believing he could have known so little about his wife. He travels to the West Bank town where her family lives to learn whether and how she became so radicalized without his ever sensing any such thoughts or feelings in her. His quest exposes him to distrust and danger from both sides in this suspenseful tale. Compared to a recent similarly- themed film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist (reviewed here 5/10/13), this one is lower key and more intensely personal.

Thanks to an intelligent script that brings us realistic characters in understandably complicated situations, aided by fine ensemble acting, we can grasp the depth and virulence of the effects on their lives of this tragic shared history. Everyone has suffered losses; everyone feels victimized; no one feels safe enough to trust "the others" no matter how well they think they know them, making co-existence a fragile state that disintegrates instantly from the ripples of the next incident. It’s hard to imagine a lasting peace ever emerging in that highly charged atmosphere of deep wounds that are ripped open so often, whether by intent or otherwise. (7/12/13)