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Country: Israel / Palestine
Genre: Drama
Year of Production: 2004
Format: 35mm
Running Time: 110 minutes
Certificate: 12A
Theatrical Release Date: 25th November 2005
DVD Release Date: 24th July 2006
It has been 10 years since Abu Shukri and his family, have settled in a valley, in the middle of nowhere, far away from their hometown. Completely independent, they live on charcoal they produce. Only the father and the son are in contact with the outside world. The father goes to the village to sell the charcoal whereas the son runs off to the village school. The mother and her two daughters incessantly burn wood.
Abu Shukri, the father, brought them to this place against their will and they know that the reason why they left the village is also the reason why they can never return.
The father decides to build a pipeline to bring fresh water to their rustic home. The women are suspicious and the son doesn't care but the running water awakens their instinct of freedom and marks the beginning of the family's explosive tragic downfall.
"Atash is undoubtedly a beautiful film. Abu Wael is arguably the most exciting Arab film-maker to have emerged in more than a decade."SIGHT & SOUND "impressive... a bold, brave film."Geoff Andrew - TIME OUT "often sublime... provocative, yet affecting" 4 STARSDavid Parkinson - EMPIRE"victim status is difficult to assign in this gripping film, in which politics and history have, at one or two removes, shaped a mysterious fable of transgression."Peter Bradshaw - THE GUARDIAN"No more beautiful film presents itself this week... a superb central figure, alone worth the price of a ticket."EVENING STANDARD "a meditative film... lyrical cinematography... affecting performances."Ian Johns - THE TIMES"a deft and accomplished work."Roger Clarke - THE INDEPENDENTCRITICS' CHOICEINDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY"Tawfik Abu Wael's directorial debut is a complex, brooding film powered by an almost classical sense of tragedy... the tensions created by these characters' needs rumble ominously through the film's loaded silences. Abu Wael has a painterly eye for a beautiful cinematic shot" 4 STARSMETRO"a confident, beautifully composed film"Philip French - THE OBSERVER"visually impressive"Tim Robey - THE DAILY TELEGRAPH"impressive cinematography... effective, claustrophobic"TOTAL FILM "serious and thoughtful... incredibly vivid and moving performances... Hussein Yassin Mahajne's portrait of a man unable to change course by dint of either reason or revolt is at once terrifying and heart-rendering... a beautiful film... highly recommended."6DEGREESFILM.COM"the film's most memorable sequences consist of wonderfully poetic visual ideas... a thoroughly compelling fable."CHANNEL4.COM"gripping directorial debut... awash with absorbing drama, subtle sorrow and tender humour"FILMEXPOSED.COM"a brave and poignant narrative" 4 STARSMORNINGSTARONLINE.CO.UK"powerful film... fans of beautiful cinematography and drama will not be disappointed." 4 STARSLCCNEWS.ORG.UK"This first feature by the 28-year-old Tawfik Abu Wael... has lived up to the promise shown in the 1999 short Diary of a Male Prostitute, and Waiting for Saladin in 2001. A haunting huis-clos, the film is like a Modern 'Antigone', dominated by the authoritative and hard working figure of the father Abu Shukri (played beautifully by a non-professional actor)"LONDON FILM FESTIVAL"an amazing first film... the untrained actors give haunting and memorable performances... a 'must see'"THELONDONSEASON.COM"a mesmerizing tale... infused with a breathtaking fictional imagination."CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL"THIRST is no doubt an aesthetic, thought-provoking and intelligent work that opens up many questions as well as offering spectacular viewing pleasure."CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL DAILYFOR PRESS NOTES CLICK HERE:
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