Ajami (2010)
90%RT Audience Score: 81%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
15 wins & 10 nominations total
This multi-character drama balances intimate portrayals and broad political implications to paint a bracing and moving portrait of the Middle East conflict.
Ajami is a movie that will make you confront your own prejudices, but don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom. Sure, there’s a looming threat of violence, but the emotional responses of the Muslims and Jews are surprisingly similar. Plus, the non-professional actors bring a sense of realism to the everydayness of the picture. It’s like watching a contemporary crime thriller, but with a bracing insight into a troubled situation without any insipid platitudes. So grab some popcorn and get ready for a gripping ride through the streets of Jaffa.
Production Company(ies)
Communicado Productions, New Zealand Film Commission Avalon, NFU
Distributor
Kino International
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Jaffa, Israel
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2009
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital Dolby SR
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 0m
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Language(s):Arabic, Hebrew
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Country of origin:Israel
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 3, 2010 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 17, 2010
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Shahir Kabaha, Ibrahim Frege, Fouad Habash, Youssef Sahwani, Ranin Karim, Nisrine Rihan, directed by Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani, written by Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Deborah Ross, Ed Koch, Chris Chang, Tim Robey, Peter Bradshaw, Matt Bochenski, Joanne Laurier, John Powers, Enrique Buchichio, Dennis Schwartz, Sean Axmaker, Alistair Harkness, multi-ethnic neighborhood, Tel Aviv, Middle East conflict, revenge killing, political implications, intimate portrayals, Moshe Danon, Thanassis Karathanos, Kino International, Arabic, 2h 0m, $621.2K, limited release, streaming release, producer Moshe Danon, Thanassis Karathanos, MPAA rating
Worldwide gross: $1,331,651
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,840,489
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,439
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 200,708
US/Canada gross: $622,403
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $860,230
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,222
US/Canada opening weekend: $35,792
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $49,469
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,213
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $1,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $1,382,111
Production budget ranking: 2,061
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $744,267
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$285,888
ROI to date (est.): -13%
ROI ranking: 1,470
Ibrahim Frege – Malek
Fouad Habash – Nasri
Youssef Sahwani – Abu-Lias
Ranin Karim – Hadir
Nisrine Rihan – Ilham
Director(s)
Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani
Writer(s)
Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani
Producer(s)
Moshe Danon, Thanassis Karathanos
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
15 wins & 10 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (69) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (2)
Ajami is not pretty and it’s not heart-warming – the threat of violence is always looming – but it is emotionally gripping, and it puts you right in its midst.
August 30, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
What comes through is that the troubles besetting Muslims and Jews and their emotional responses are similar in nature. The people involved have so much in common.
January 13, 2018
Ed Koch
The Atlantic
TOP CRITIC
Its sense of ambiance, most apparent during scenes of simple conversation between characters, more than compensates for the cinematic overdetermination.
September 24, 2014
Chris Chang
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The actors, every one of them new to their craft, make the everydayness of the picture indelible and real.
June 24, 2010 | Rating: 4/4
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The pattern of connections and coincidences is a little overschematic, but the movie has energy, especially in the grippingly real shooting scene at the beginning.
June 17, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
A rare film that will force you to confront your own prejudices.
June 17, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Matt Bochenski
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Ajami is a complex, deep-going work. The performers are all non-professionals, and, as the directors explain, come from tough backgrounds.
March 4, 2021
Joanne Laurier
World Socialist Web Site
It’s a dark, unsparing vision, yet what makes watching bearable, even pleasurable, is Copti and Shani’s humane intelligence.
May 17, 2018
John Powers
NPR’s Fresh Air
Una contundente pera prima, narrada en forma fragmentaria a la manera de Amores Perros o Crash, que retrata con brutal honestidad la vida en un conflictivo vecindario de Jaffa. Estupendo elenco de actores no profesionales.
June 2, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
Gripping modern-day drama about crime and tensions among the Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs.
September 21, 2010 | Rating: A
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
… acutely insightful about the social divisions within Israel, but it examines them without scolding or sentimentality.
September 4, 2010
Sean Axmaker
Seanax.com
A confident contemporary crime thriller that, yes, may rely on perhaps a few too many plot coincidences to hang together, but otherwise offers a bracing insight into a troubled situation without hectoring us with insipid platitudes.
July 19, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Alistair Harkness
Scotsman…
Plot
In the multi-ethnic neighborhood of Tel Aviv, a revenge killing sets off a chain of events with broad political implications in the emotionally gripping drama, Ajami.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Ajami features a cast of non-professional actors.
Scandar-Copti.jpg
