Pomegranates and Myrrh

Pomegranates and Myrrh (المر والرومان) is writer and director Najwa Najjar’s first feature film. The movie opens with the wedding of Kamar (Yasmine Al Massri) and Zaid (Ashraf Farah), a couple living in the Palestinian occupied territories. Just days after the wedding, Israeli troops show up to confiscate the family’s olive farm and arrest Zaid.

Kamar, a dancer who’s preparing for a big performance, faces pressure from her husband and in-laws to quit dancing and help with the farmwork. Meanwhile, Kais (Ali Suliman), a prominent choreographer who has returned to Palestine to assist with the big dance show, encourages Kamar to return to rehearsal. Kamar and Kais begin spending a lot of time together at Umm Habib (Haim Abbas)’s cafe. As Zaid’s options for getting out of prison look increasingly slim, the friendship between Kamar and Kais grows closer.

Pomegranates and Myrrh’s many simultaneous story lines are told as much through artistic camera work as they are through dialogue. The main actors put on a strong performance, though the chemistry between characters can be stiff. The result is a creative movie that leaves a lot of outcomes implied or unresolved. Sometimes this feels intentional, but other times it seems disjointed and unfinished. Overall, it’s a decent movie about the lives of young adults in the Palestinian territories and about one young woman’s struggle to balance her own desires with the expectations of family and society.

The relatively simple and sparse dialogue make Pomegranates and Myrrh an accessible film for intermediate Arabic learners. English subtitles are available too.

If you’re looking for a more recent film - and one recorded on much nicer cameras - I would highly recommend Najjar’s most recent feature film, Between Heaven and Earth (2019). The film is available on Netflix and on other streaming platforms in many countries.

Vocabulary / مفردات

المر والرومان
Myrrh and Pomegranates
Movie title

قمر
Moon
Main female character’s name

2:45
أعزب / عزاب
Bachelor/s

7:50
قوم/ي
Get up or stand up (command)

8:50
انا هيك كان شكلي؟
I looked like that?

21:52
انت معك تصريح؟
Do you have your permit?

27:43
قوي/ة
Strong

32:38
سلمي على
Say hello to; send my regards to; give my best to…
سلملي على in more formal and written Arabic

40:20
ملعب / ملاعب
Playground/s

45:42
عفكرة
By the way

48:45
ع راحتك
As you wish; as you like; at your convenience

50:55
تدريب
Training or practice

51:55
تمرين
Exercise or training

1:07:23
عم تحكي عنجد؟
Are you serious?

1:24:48
دخن وين مكان
Smoke is/was everywhere
وين مكان can also mean anywhere or wherever. To see this phrase in a different context, take a look at the lyrics of the song Tayheen by Ghazall

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