The Bubble (2007)

Israeli filmmaker Eytan Fox offers up a "Romeo & Romeo" tale about an Israeli man (Ohad Knoller) and a Palestinian man (Yousef Sweid) who make a go of love in Tel Aviv. But The Bubble is also an ensemble piece, about twenty-something men and women who share an apartment, political idealism, and a longing to forget their troubles and party. Co-writers Fox and Gal Uchovsky paint a credible portrait of the "bubble" of youth culture in the Tel Aviv, and define the characters by their reaction to the sudden presence of a closeted Palestinian (who's also, as a gay man, closeted from his own family). The Bubble's hope for the future, then, is tempered by awareness of thus far intractable ideological differences. Given the Middle East conflict, Fox explores how life and love in Israel can be figuratively and literally explosive.