Trapped in an Israeli hospital with his grandfather, young Muhi provides a unique window into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The words “Israeli-Palestinian conflict” are often wielded broadly, in ways that ignore its impact on daily lives. Anyone unfamiliar with the results of this division on a human level would benefit from watching “Muhi: Generally, Temporary,” a powerful look at a young child trapped between two sides of a battle that has nothing to do with him.
Jerusalem-based journalists Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander and Tamir Elterman direct this engaging portrait of Muhi (short for Muhammed), who was rushed to an Israeli hospital in his infancy, where his limbs were amputated as a result of an infection. Then he was stuck there, alongside his doting grandfather Abu Naim, as both wound up trapped in an immigration limbo that made it impossible for them to leave. With Muhi’s citizenship unclear, and Abu Naim denied a work permit or visa, the pair reside solely within the constraints of the hospital walls. As the years pass by, the setting becomes a kind of sanctuary for them — or a prison, depending on the day.
Shot over the course of several years, “Muhi” focuses on the progress of the energetic child as he bounds through the hallways of the hospital, his cherubic face and jubilant attitude belying the sad backdrop. Dashing about on prosthetic limbs when not forced to make do with his stumps, Muhi displays a general understanding of his situation but displays none of the complex distress of his elders. The result is an compelling contrast between obliviousness and anxiety that forms a strong allegory for the broader challenges that surround Muhi’s complicated existence — and speaks to the competing emotions embedded in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict itself.