ARABIAN SIGHTS

Happy Holidays

SCANDAR COPTI
Palestinian Territories, Germany, France, Italy, Qatar, 2024
123 minutes, Color

This intricate family drama set in Haifa centers on the secrets young people keep from their parents and each other. Rami and his sister, Fifi, each have relationships and indiscretions best kept from their long-suffering but canny mother (the wonderful Wafaa Aoun). But as the secrets spiral out in wide-reaching ways, so does the drama. A look at contemporary life for a well-off family of Arab Christians in Israel, with a sidelong glance at the larger society in which they live, the ironically titled Happy Holidays reveals how even the most modern relationships are in the grip of ancient assumptions that hold women and men back from their futures. Oscar®-nominated Palestinian director Scandar Copti (Ajami) has created a narrative structure in the manner of an arabesque, with intertwining story threads that both explain and add to the plot's mounting mysteries.—Judy Bloch

In Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles