Courtesy of Film Movement

Maysaloun Hamoud’s debut feature In Between is not only entertaining and engrossing, but a cinematic rarity. The film is partially set in Tel Aviv’s Palestinian underground club scene, a hip mini-society that isn’t generally represented on film (or anywhere). Hamoud’s three main characters are young Arab-Israeli women, seemingly very different from one another on the surface, but each facing major challenges in a rigidly patriarchal society and, to a lesser degree—at least in this movie—as an unwelcome minority. The multi-layered narrative is buoyed by the charismatic performances of its stars: Mouna Hawa as droll lawyer/party girl Leila, Sana Jammelieh as soulful DJ Salma, and Shaden Kanboura as strictly observant Muslim college student Nour. Though Hamoud’s direction has a casual, verité-like vibe, the unfolding plights of each woman, especially Nour, add growing tension to the film. There are also flashes of levity in the drily humorous dialogue, especially on the part of the free-wheeling Leila.

Courtesy of Film Movement

Leila and Salma, roommates in the bustling Yemenite Quarter of the city, are denizens of a hard-partying club scene featuring pounding Palestinian hip hop and a variety of drugs. A successful lawyer by day, Leila lets loose at night with a cadre of male friends, while aspiring DJ Salma humors her strict Christian parents by attending arranged dinners they’ve planned in hopes of marrying her off. A lesbian, she clearly has no intention of acquiescing to their wishes. One day Nour, the cousin of a third roommate who is off on a film shoot, shows up seeking temporary lodgings while her dorm is under renovation. A hijab-wearing good girl from the northern town of Umm al-Fahm, she is somewhat of a curiosity to Leila and Salma, but they welcome her. Engaged to the pious Wissam (Henry Andrawes), who believes that his wife should not work, Nour plans to teach computer science and is not entirely comfortable with their arranged union.

At a party, Leila meets the handsome Ziad (Mahmood Shalabi), who works in film production, and the two quickly bond. Soon after, the smitten couple get high and spend an idyllic day by the sea. Meanwhile, Salma quits her job in a restaurant after the manager criticizes the kitchen workers for speaking Arabic as it might upset the customers. She finds work in a bar, where an employee is surprised by the fact she’s Palestinian. (In another scene, a boutique salesgirl watches Leila and Salma suspiciously. Though subtle, these are telling examples of the characters’ minority status in Tel Aviv: not exactly soul-crushing, just ever-present.) While tending bar, Salma flirts with an attractive customer, Dounia (Ashlam Canaan), and they too become a couple.

Courtesy of Film Movement

Wissam, naturally, is horrified by Nour’s new roommates and tries to find her another apartment. He also wants to move up their wedding date. Nour gently pushes back on both counts and Wissam becomes enraged, believing she has been ruined by her “impure” acquaintances. In a tough, disturbing scene, he brutally demonstrates his power. Later Leila and Salma comfort the distraught girl and hatch a scheme to pry him loose.

Though Nour’s situation is the most traumatic, the other women face major obstacles: When Salma brings Dounia to her parents’ house, to yet another arranged dinner with a would-be suitor, the evening ends catastrophically with Salma’s father threatening to send her to a madhouse. (Here’s a reminder that conservative Muslims don’t have a monopoly on intolerance.) And Leila, seemingly the most carefree of the three, soon learns that Ziad isn’t as progressive as he seems. In a way, his betrayal is the most dismaying.

The movie ends on an ambiguous note, as all three women face uncertain futures. Each has refused to change for men or society, and for this they have our sympathy and admiration. The movie leaves us wanting to know more; I doubt that Hamoud is planning a sequel, but I for one would be thrilled to see it.

In Between opens on Friday, January 5, at Landmark Sunshine Cinema and Landmark at 57 West.

—Marina Zogbi