Advisory warning: Some adult themes discussed. Recommended for viewers 16+.
With Imad’s jaw clenched and his gaze piercing into the clock, he waits for a brief moment with Najwa, his wife, during her visit to the prison. Separated by a glass partition, the couple’s eyes lock in a silent exchange of longing, and their fingers touch the prison glass barrier. Defiantly, Najwa subtly passes a candy wrapper containing Imad’s smuggled sperm, determined to maintain their bond despite being separated. This pivotal moment highlights the film’s core themes of resilience and the enduring strength of the human spirit, setting an emotional tone for the rest of the piece.
In the short film “Bonbone,” Palestinian director Rakan Mayasi presents a unique narrative that captures the struggles of separation and intimacy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Delving into the lengths to which individuals will go to sustain relationships in the face of often insurmountable obstacles, Mayasi crafts a tale that is as intense as it is intimate and sheds new light on the human impact of violence and war in just 15 minutes of runtime.
This story centers around a Palestinian woman and her imprisoned husband’s struggle to connect emotionally due to their physical separation and their efforts to conceive a child. The film opens with Najwa navigating the bureaucratic and humiliating process of visiting her husband in prison. Her journey to the facility is marked by a bus ride that lasts several hours. From there, she is met with numerous security checks and invasive procedures, from waiting in a long line to getting her hair inspected to getting strip searched. These scenes strikingly illustrate the oppressive nature of the occupation, where events from mundane to professional, are met with indignities and barriers designed to break the human spirit.
After her visit with Imad, Najwa boards a bus back to her hometown. The bus ride back was scheduled to take less than six hours, which would give her enough time to inseminate herself, but the bus was rerouted by the military. As a result, she inseminates herself on the bus rather than her own home. Even the mundane task of visiting her husband, which should be simple and routine, is instead obstructed by the military, reflecting the imposed difficulties of the occupation.
Imad, while confined in the prison, faces his own set of daily struggles. The isolation and monotony of prison life weighs on him. Despite his desire for a child, his late-night efforts to produce semen, fueled by hope and determination, are futile. When Najwa arrives for her visit, Imad shares his struggle with her, telling her how he tried all night but was ultimately unsuccessful.
The title of the short film, “Bonbone,” is the Arabic word for candy, symbolizing the clandestine method they used to maintain their connection. This is not just a love story; instead, it is a commentary on the larger political context that war is not only about nations and their agendas but also about the lives of the ordinary. By getting up close and personal, Mayasi humanizes the conflict and draws attention to the everyday struggles and acts of resistance that often go unnoticed.
The act of smuggling sperm hidden in a candy wrapper is both a desperate and hopeful attempt to create some semblance of normalcy in a world that denied them such basic human rights, and Imad and Najwa are not alone in their endeavors. The film concludes by telling the reader that more than 50 infants were conceived by Palestinian couples from behind Israeli prison bars. Through these depictions of the mundane, “Bonbone” provides a deeply human perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how the occupation infiltrates every aspect of daily life, turning what was once deemed as an ordinary activity into acts of resistance and even survival. The film leaves a lasting impact, urging viewers to reflect on the resilience of love in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers.
Mayasi’s directing captures the suffocating and lonely atmosphere of the prison and the quiet, desperate demeanor of the characters. The cinematography consists of many close-up shots, forcing the viewer to feel not only the intimacy the couple desire but the stifling reality of their separation. In doing so, the audience is forced to come face-to-face with the realities of life during the occupation. The lack of dialogue between the characters heightens the intensity and allows their expressions and gestures to communicate their emotions. Against the bleak and frigid backdrop of the prison, Najwa and Imad’s bond leaves the hearts of those who watch feeling bittersweet.
Discussion Questions:
- How does Rakan Mayasi’s storytelling impact the message of this story?
- How does this film humanize the Palestinian struggle through the personal story of Imad and Najwa?
- How does the film use the setting of the prison to explore broader political and social issues?
- Does the length of the film play a role in the story?