Let It Be Morning is the story of Sami (Alex Bakri) a Palestinian-born Israeli citizen living in Jerusalem who is invited to his brother’s wedding. He has to return to the Arab village where he grew up and which he left for other opportunities. After the wedding ends, Sami's hometown is put under a military blockade lockdown by the Israeli government, without explanation. The power is cut and the villagers are trapped by an Israeli roadblock.
When chaos erupts amongst the villagers who begin to run out of food and water, Sami is also cut off from the outside world and unable to return to his work in Jerusalem. Trapped in an unexpected situation, he deals with questions about his own identity. As hidden secrets are revealed, Sami watches everything he holds dear begin to fall apart.
Written and directed by award-winning Israeli filmmaker Eran Kolirin (The Band's Visit), the film was adapted from the international best-selling novel of the same name by Palestinian author Sayed Kashua.
Let It Be Morning is a film about a state of siege, both internal and external – centered around a man who has built a wall around his heart. It explores how that inner wall starts coming apart when a physical wall is erected around his hometown.
The film was selected to be screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 74th Cannes Film Festival,[11] where it had its world premiere on 10 July 2021.[12] The film was theatrically released in Israel by Lev Cinemas on 17 March 2022.[13] It was released in France by Pyramide Distribution on 13 April 2022.[14]
Cohen Media Group, the US distributors of the film, released Let It Be Morning in the United States on 3 February 2023.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 21 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.30/10.[15]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16]
Davide Abbatescianni, of The New Arab, defined it as "an enjoyable comedy," although "it occasionally suffers from some pacing issues, especially during its last third." He praised its "solid storytelling, the good acting performances and the compelling lead character."[17]
