Yellow Asphalt
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: B
Told in three sections, Yellow Asphalt (2000) is an
anthology of three stories examining the world of the Bedouin tribe and how
their enclosed world will not stay that way for long. Writer/director Danny Vereté went on location in Israel and
actually got the assistance of the “Jahalin” tribe to make this production
possible. Instead of the stereotypical
or formulaic drama we might have encountered in a boutique production, we see a
side of a hidden world more complex than a “mediafied war on terror” would
suggest.
In fact, this is part of the Judean desert remarkably
untouched for decades, so it is the final frontier in untold stories of the
region. Black Spot is the
too-short and not always well-executed tale of two truckers whose 18-wheeler
hits and kills a young boy. Almost
immediately, members of the tribe arrive and potential confrontation comes to a
head. He Is Not There is about
the hatred, abuse and implied slavery of women in Islam, as a woman takes her
two children and decides rightly to make a run for it. Her husband in is pursuit, having wanted to
keep the kids and his false sense of honor.
Her will kill her in a disgracefully named “honor killing” if she does
not escape. It speaks volumes about the
violation of women in all of Islam who allow themselves to agree to this
misery. Red Roofs rounds out the
set with a love affair that crosses ethnic and cultural lines, which again
involves murder to keep artificial barriers up. Together, deep, sick problems persist there and this is sadly
just the tip of the iceberg.
The 1.33 x 1 full frame image has shimmering image and
detail problems throughout, likely caused by blindly activating digital video
noise reduction. As a result, you
cannot tell if this was shot on film or video.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 is stereo at best and the Hebrew and Arabic are
subtitled. The combination is adequate. The only extras are five trailers, one of
this and four for other New Yorker titles.
Too bad, because as much as Yellow Asphalt says, the DVD had room
to add much more. Be sure to see this
one.
- Nicholas Sheffo
