Tel Aviv on Fire

A lightweight but smart combination of satire, drama, and rom-com.

One spoiler: Tel Aviv does not burst into flames. But Salam's career might.

Alas, the potential for sharp political satire takes a back seat to small screen spoofery, nudging this more in the direction of Soapdish, rather than Joe Dante's transcendent The Second Civil War.

Zoabi relies on the old adage that we have more in common than not, but it's a lesson that bears repeating - particularly when laughs come with it.

In offering a comedic take on not just the hostility between Israelis and Palestinians, but also the shared history and culture that bind them, "Tel Aviv on Fire" is an enjoyable respite from the bleakness that is far more typical of their stories.

Following a soap opera that muddles through the day to day, Sameh Zoabi's film is lightweight and a little repetitive, but its valuable insight is that in many senses, political reality works in rather the same way.

Entertaining but superficial... [Full review in Spanish]

The film achieves a balance between plot levity and a rich context... [Full review in Spanish]

Utilizes dramedy and romance to dig into people's idiosyncrasies and showcase the sociopolitical context of its setting. [Full review in Spanish]

Treads on unpredictable ground, using ironic humour to illuminate cultural differences.