Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- passionate
- bittersweet
- politically charged
- reflective evening
- political cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly recognized an impassioned, politically engaged Palestinian drama whose directness and performances were stronger than its uneven execution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Soraya travels from Brooklyn to Palestine to reclaim her grandfather's frozen savings and her inherited sense of belonging.
Soraya and Emad respond to constraints on their lives by taking direct, potentially illegal action.
Soraya's lifelong dream of returning to Palestine is steadily challenged by the reality around her.
The grandfather's frozen bank savings in Jaffa motivate Soraya's return and make dispossession materially concrete.
Films like Salt of This Sea, and why
The Time That Remains
shared Palestinian identity, displacement, political drama, and emotionally direct social realism
Omar
shared themes of exile, homeland, borders, and intimate personal resistance
The Syrian Bride
shared diasporic identity, return to an ancestral homeland, and reflective drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Annemarie Jacir
- Release Date
- 2008-09-03
- Runtime
- 109 min
- Rating
- 5.8 / 10 (24)
Cast
- Suheir Hammad
- Saleh Bakri
- Riyad Ideis
- Sylvie Wetz
- Yahya Barakat
- Khaled Hourani
- Iman Aoun
- Juliano Mer-Khamis
Common questions
- What is Salt of This Sea about?
- A determined Palestinian American woman returns to Jaffa to reclaim her grandfather’s savings, only to find her idealized homeland reshaping her ideas of freedom and belonging.
- What is Salt of This Sea like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Salt of This Sea as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Salt of This Sea violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Salt of This Sea as mild.
- What did critics think of Salt of This Sea?
- Critics broadly recognized an impassioned, politically engaged Palestinian drama whose directness and performances were stronger than its uneven execution.
- Which films are like Salt of This Sea?
- Films with a similar feel include The Time That Remains, Omar, and The Syrian Bride.
- How long is Salt of This Sea?
- Salt of This Sea runs 109 minutes.
