Coexistence, My Ass!

Bluesky

Documentary films often prove that timing is everything, and this one does so on steroids. The filmmakers behind Coexisistence, My Ass! obviously knew that viewing the the Israel-Palestine conflict through the eyes of a comedian was never going to turn the work into a happy-go-lucky endeavour, but the subject matter grew significantly bleaker during the last couple years of the project. Nevertheless, the film successfully finds insight and social commentary in its study of Noam Shuster-Eliassi, a Jewish woman who advocates for equal rights for the Palestinian people.

The daughter of an Iranian-Jewish mother and an Israeli-Jewish father, Shuster-Eliassi grew up in Neve Shalom – Oasis of Peace in English and Wāħat as-Salām in Arabic – a unique community in Israel where Jews and Palestinians live together by choice. With fewer than 400 people, it’s not a big community, but it has received a lot of press over the years, with the gifted Shuster-Eliassi standing out as one its shining stars since childhood. When politicians like Hillary Clinton visited the town, they met her and her Palestinian friend, Ranin, who together served as signs of hope for a peaceful future.

Of course, that peaceful future seems as far away as ever in Israel’s current climate, and this documentary captures the moments in which things took a turn for the worse. It follows its subject through Covid-19 quarantine, the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and the ensuing escalation of attacks from the Israeli government.

Director Amber Fares weaves footage of Shuster-Eliassi’s politically-oriented stand-up into the study of the last five years of her life. Based on what’s shown in the film, Shuster-Eliassi isn’t a sidesplittingly funny stand-up, and rhetorical footage from her show might not be able to carry a film without the additional biographical component. But she has an easy-going, friendly nature that helps her breach touchy subjects with her audience. This approachability leads to her becoming a regular on Israeli news channels, providing a Jewish voice against the government’s policies.

The documentary doesn’t provide the same level of craft or on-the-ground access as fellow festival hit No Other Land. But its story provides different insights that help build a bigger sense of the conflict. Specifically, we understand the point of view of a person fighting against the prevailing wisdom in her country. In one scene, Shuster-Eliassi confronts protesters who are opposing the domestic policies of Benjamin Netanyahu’s regime but refuse to protest for the people of Palestine, saying they need to focus on home first. In another, she follows the Neve Shalom social media community’s reaction to news and laments that even her progressive neighbours can’t appreciate the bigger picture.

And the bigger picture is what our heroine always strives for. The movie begins with Shuster-Eliassi visiting Harvard University campus, where she has been offered a residency to craft a one-woman show, which she accepts on the condition that she can give it the irreverent title that the film shares. Looking at an old statue that superstitious parents visit to give their kids good luck for getting into Harvard, she turns to the camera and tells the audience not to do that, other schools are just as good. This scene perhaps best sums up Shuster-Eliassi’s character: Even when she’s on the inside, she’s looking out for the less fortunate.

Source