A House in Jerusalem

Following the traumatising death of her mother in an accident, Rebecca moves with her father, Michael, to her grandfather’s home in Jerusalem. Although disconsolate himself, Michael wants his daughter to begin a new life in the new city. But, clinging to the memories of her mother, the young girl cannot bring herself to let go of the past. The tussle between father and daughter comes to a head when Rebecca discovers another girl of her age living in the house.

Novelistic in scope and intimate in treatment, Muayad Alayan’s A House in Jerusalem is a heartfelt exploration of personal and historical memory presented through the tremendously moving point of view of a bereaved child. With a classical filmmaking style, Alayan weds our perspective closely to Rebecca’s, allowing the film to seamlessly merge fantastic and realistic elements to haunting effect.

A structurally complex and thematically rich work, the film draws resonant associations between its different characters and narrative arcs such that each one informs, elucidates and resolves the others. Individual grief and collective trauma buttress one another as Rebecca tries to process a primal scene of hurt and helplessness. A House in Jerusalem is that rare film that becomes more affecting and profound as its mysteries give way to everyday reality.

– Srikanth Srinivasan