Let It Be Morning Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Eran Kolirin
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Juna Suleiman, Salim Daw, Ehab Salami, Khalifa Natour
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Cohen Media Group
• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 2.39:1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Israel
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 41 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ March 7, 2023

 

         Jewish Israeli filmmaker Eran Kolirin is best known for his 2007 film, The Band’s Visit, a film about an Egyptian band who becomes stranded in a small town in Israel. Let It Be Morning also deals with confinement in a small community when Israeli military forces block the only road out of a village. A Palestinian family with Israeli citizenship is stuck in the village along with others who were in the area for a wedding. There are clear political themes running throughout Kolirin’s film, but more impactful are the relatable human moments. To consider Let It Be Morning as a film either implicitly or unintentionally addressing Covid-era themes seems like low-hanging fruit, however accurate. At the center of the film are a group of people longing to fix the mess that they have made from their lives, while also being limited in what choices are available due to the circumstances of their situation.

 

        The wedding the film begins with joins bride Lina (Yara Elham Jarrar) and the groom Aziz (Samir Bishirat), whose families are at the center of the storyline. The main focus of the narrative is Aziz’s sullen older brother Sami (Alex Bakri), who lives in Jerusalem with his wife and son thanks to a well-paying executive job. Sami’s wife Mira (Juna Suleiman) suspects problems in their relationship and even Aziz recognizes the signs that his brother has been unfaithful, though both this extramarital relationship and his job are put at risk by the confinement.

 

        With nothing but time, all of the issues these characters are dealing with inevitably bubble to the surface, as characters look for proactive ways to cope with the quarantine. Food and water is in short supply in the village and the family soon must get creative, while undocumented Arab’s in the community are picked up by the government, out of fears that the United States and Iran are at risk of going to war. There is a lot going on within Let It Be Morning, and yet the film somehow still manages a leisurely pace. Although there is tension within the plot, the suspense is mostly dissipated by the absurdity of many situations, often punctuated with comedy instead. This is a refreshing different way to approach the material, not entirely unlike The Band’s Visit, though some audiences may be disappointed to find the narrative’s lack of resolution. However, this seems entirely intentional given the state of politics in the region.

 

        The Blu-ray release of Let It Be Morning doesn’t have any special features and the film itself doesn’t demand high definition presentation.

 

Entertainment Value: 6/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 7.5/10

Historical Significance:  7/10

Special Features: 0/10