CURFEW tells the story of a day in the life of a Palestinian family living in a refugee camp on the Gaza Strip. It takes place in 1993, just before peace negotiations began. Shot in a naturalistic style with the feel of a documentary, CURFEW puts a human face on headline news.
The film opens with Radar (Younis Younis), a street-smart young boy, playing in a quiet Palestinian quarter of occupied Gaza. A postman gives him a letter from his brother, who is studying in Germany, and Radar runs home with the news. He begins to read the letter to his family, but is
interrupted by the sound of an Israeli patrol truck announcing an immediate curfew. Streets empty, doors shut, and stores close. The anxious residents hurry to their homes and settle in for the duration, which could be anywhere from a few hours to several weeks.
The curfew confines the extended family to the space of their home. Practical daily routines and everyday events take on new importance: food is rationed, it's too dangerous to hang laundry outside, much-needed medicine is not easily available. The relationships that emerge between family members
and neighbors are set against the background of the Israeli occupation and the Intifada. The only glimpses of the streets outside are those seen by peering over walls--a house is bulldozed, men are called into the streets, trucks filled with Palestinians are taken away. The narrative spans 24
hours, ending much as it began.
With most of the film set within a single dwelling, the family home becomes a microcosm of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation--a life characterized by claustrophobia, tedium, and fear. Although CURFEW was obviously made on a tight budget, director Rashid Masharawi elicits good performances
from his actors, who persuasively play out the dynamics of a family unit shaped by the burden of an ailing father, sibling rivalries, political differences, and the frustrations of a disgruntled teenager. The film also suggests the stifling effects of the occupation on the development of
Palestinian culture; in particular, the spiritual paralysis produced by the feeling of being hemmed in without any options.
CURFEW is the debut feature for Palestinian director Masharawi, who was born and raised in a refugee camp in Gaza. Although his production company is based in Palestine, he refused both Palestinian and Israeli financing for the film in order to assure his complete autonomy. CURFEW was shown at
major international film festivals, such as Cannes and Toronto, as well as in some art-house cinemas in the US. leave a comment