A 'Bubble' of fragility

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It's hard for Americans, living in relative security with no terrorist attacks in six years, to imagine what day-to-day life in the Middle East is like.

Judging from "The Bubble" ("HaBuah"), it's difficult for some Israelis to understand, too.

The title of the latest film from Eytan Fox, who last year received the Washington Jewish Film Festival's first Decade Award, refers to Tel Aviv. It's the cultural center of Israel, much more secular than the rest of the country, and it hasn't had to face nearly as much terrorist activity as, say, Jerusalem. It might be easy to forget, strolling past the cafes and art galleries, the fighting taking place mere miles away.

The mostly carefree twentysomethings we meet in this film are certainly living in a bubble: Their idea of political action is organizing a rave for peace. The young and hip leftists, who are against the occupation, seem genuinely surprised when not everyone they hand their fliers to is enthusiastic — and they barely notice that only a single Palestinian shows up to the party.

They can even make jokes about terrorism. When Noam (Ohad Knoller) returns from an army reserve stint at a checkpoint, his roommate (and fellow homosexual) Yelli (Alon Freidmann) asks if he met anyone: "No sexy suicide bombers?"

It turns out he did, though. Ashraf (Yousef "Joe" Sweid) shows up at the apartment they share with Lulu (Daniella Wircer), carrying the passport Noam dropped at the checkpoint. Ashraf and Noam immediately connect, and Ashraf moves in. Despite the difficulties of living in Tel Aviv without permission, living in Palestine as a homosexual man — especially when your sister is about to marry a guy named Jihad — is even harder.

While Lulu, dubbed the "Israeli Carrie Bradshaw," and Yelli seem to be in a romantic comedy, politics soon begin to intrude on Noam and Ashraf. Mr. Fox, who co-wrote the film with his partner, Gal Uchovsky, treats the relationship with both darkness and light in a script filled with (but not weighed down by) sensitivity.

"We were explosive," Noam tells Ashraf the morning after. "Explosive?" Ashraf says, confused. "Don't you know that word?" Noam asks.

Of course he does. And neither Noam nor Ashraf can ignore the reality outside the bubble they try to construct for themselves. That reality is shown here with an even hand. We see, for example, the senseless but inevitable thirst for retribution on both sides.

The film's ending may strike some as jarring, but it may have been the only one possible for these characters. It is they, after all, who are important, not the politics that tear them apart. Mr. Fox seems to believe he can remind us of this, but not those who actually make the decisions outside the bubble.

***1/2

TITLE: "The Bubble" ("HaBuah")

RATING:Not rated (brief nudity, sexual situations)

CREDITS: Directed by Eytan Fox. Written by Mr. Fox and Gal Uchovsky. In Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles

RUNNING TIME: 117 minutes

WEB SITE: www.thebubble.msn. co.il/eng/index.asp

MAXIMUM RATING: FOUR STARS