The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Tribeca Film Festival 2016

Junction 48

Tribeca Film Festival 2016: Junction 48 | Review
18 April 2016
Daniel Engelke
Avatar
Daniel Engelke
18 April 2016

Movie and show review

Daniel Engelke

Junction 48

★★★★★

Links

FacebookWebsite

Special event

Foreign movie aficionados cannot ignore the diverse film coming out of Israel over the past decade. Titles like 5 Broken Cameras and Zero Motivation have enjoyed mainstream success in American markets. The appeal is due to the on-the-ground exposure of a culture, for American and Western audiences, that is inherently seen through a biased lens – namely, the Israel-Palestine conflict. Junction 48 looks to continue the unique portrayal of the region by focusing on an equally unique character: a Palestinian rapper.

Kareem is a rap musician living in the seedy half-Israeli half-Palestinian town of Lod. His neighbourhood is the 48, a microcosm of the strong but sordid life of the town; naturally many of the social ills experienced by Kareem turn into song lyrics. Since the focus is on the daily life of the rough-and-tumble Lod, rather than the Palestine-Israel conflict, Kareem’s rap allows for an Arab and Jewish fanbase. Yet when outside factors force the residents of the 48 to confront the Conflict, will Kareem change his tune?

Like Kareem’s lyrics, the point of Junction 48 is not to present a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, instead the characters are just as diverse in opinion as their Jewish counterparts in Zero Motivation. Kareem and his friends drive around in a Mercedes while listening to Tupac and drinking Svedka vodka. The Conflict is a problem, yes, but various conflicts of daily life are much more immediate. While this may be the intent of Palestinian Tamer Nafer (“Kareem”) and Israeli Oren Moverman, hardliners may find fault with the conclusion.

The majority of Junction 48 is suspenseful entertainment that features catchy music, real social woes and the ironies that exist on and off the screen. While the familiar music bio-pic structure will draw Western audiences in for the first half, the second half takes a more reflective turn that loses momentum. Nonetheless, the convincing characters, well portrayed by passionate actors, allow Junction 48 to continue the successful run of diverse cinema from the region.

★★★★★

Daniel Engelke

Junction 48 does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more of our reviews and interviews from the festival here.

For further information about Tribeca Film Festival 2016 visit here.

Related Itemsreview

More in Film festivals

Lovers Rock

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More

Nomadland

★★★★★
Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Possessor

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

African Apocalypse

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Limbo

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More

New Order (Nuevo Orden)

★★★★★
Emma-Jane Betts
Read More

Striding Into the Wind

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

After Love

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Notturno

★★★★★
Rosamund Kelby
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Daniel Engelke

Junction 48

★★★★★

Links

FacebookWebsite

Special event

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • The White Tiger
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks
    Theatre
  • Start the year right with these eco-friendly vegan and vegetarian food deliveries
    Food & Drinks
  • Hello Cosmos – Dream Harder
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • 23 Walks
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Live Lab at The Yard Theatre: An interview with associate director Cheryl Gallagher
    Theatre
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks
    Theatre
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Tribeca Film Festival 2016: Command and Control | Review
Tribeca Film Festival 2016: Memories of Penitent Heart | Review