The movie gives more voice to the Palestinians than the Israelis. For one thing, the Israeli grandmother (savta) is dying, so she is never to be seen. For another, there is much more dialog and passion for the Palestinian side of the family.
The parents are always tense, from the beginning, as though they're always planning "what next" for their son, like he's some kind of experiment. The boy is a pawn in a sea of headstrong grandparents and clueless parents, who claim to be atheists or non-religious, while sacrificing their only child to his ravenous grandparents who want to push their own agendas, regardless of anything their children say.
Noah Schnapp is ingenuous in his portrayal and frankly, carries the entire movie. Casting Dagmara Dominczyk in the mother's role was a bad call; not only was she not convincing, she looked much older than Arian Moayed and the same age as her mother-in-law, IMHO.
The parents are always tense, from the beginning, as though they're always planning "what next" for their son, like he's some kind of experiment. The boy is a pawn in a sea of headstrong grandparents and clueless parents, who claim to be atheists or non-religious, while sacrificing their only child to his ravenous grandparents who want to push their own agendas, regardless of anything their children say.
Noah Schnapp is ingenuous in his portrayal and frankly, carries the entire movie. Casting Dagmara Dominczyk in the mother's role was a bad call; not only was she not convincing, she looked much older than Arian Moayed and the same age as her mother-in-law, IMHO.