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The Idol
Directed by
Hany Abu-Assad
Not Rated
2015
1h 40m
Comedy
,
Drama
,
and more
6.7
84%
66%
Add to Watchlist
Mohammed Assaf, an aspiring musician living in Gaza, sets a seemingly impossible goal: to compete on the program "Arab Idol."
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Where to Watch The Idol
Amazon Video
Rent $3.99
Buy $8.99
Apple TV
Rent $3.99
Buy $8.99
Fandango At Home
Rent $2.99
Buy $8.99
+2 more
Cast of The Idol
Tawfeek Barhom
Mohammed Assaf
Qais Attaallah
Mohammed Assaf (younger)
Hiba Attalah
Nour
Ahmad Qasem
Young Ahmad
Abdel Kareem Barakeh
Young Omar
Teya Hussein
Young Amal
Dima Awawdeh
Amal
Ahmed Al Rokh
Omar
Saber Shreim
Ahmad
Amer Hlehel
Kamal
Manal Awad
Mohammed's Mother
Walid Abed Elsalam
Mohammed's Father
Eyad Hourani
Ali
Ashraf Barhom
Smuggler
Nadine Labaki
Shadia
Maisa Abd Elhadi
HIBA
Ali Jaber
Sandy Habashneh
Rami Yasin
Beirut Doctor
Hany Abu-Assad
Director / Writer
Sameh Zoabi
Writer
Ali Jaafar
Producer
Amira Diab
Producer
The Idol Ratings & Reviews
Detroit News
Tom Long
Obviously anyone can see where this going, but director Abu-Assad wisely makes the journey fascinating by factoring in cultural and political considerations.
Cinemalogue
Todd Jorgenson
Critics of reality television might need to grit their teeth while enjoying this inspirational coming-of-age drama.
San Diego Reader
Scott Marks
Mohammad Assaf's (Tawfeek Barhom) quest to become the next Arab Idol plays out much in the same manner as the routine biographical backstory segment one expects to find on the talent contest just prior to a contestant taking to the stage.
Chicago Reader
Leah Pickett
Beautifully shot, and with a powerful performance from Barhom, this is a biopic at its best.
BuzzFeed News
Alison Willmore
The Idol, has the kind of backstory reality show producers would plotz over - which they surely did, seeing as his vocal talents and performance chops made him the champion of the second season of Arab Idol.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
Cary Darling
With the brighter, more optimistic and more conventional The Idol, [director Abu-Assad] doesn't completely abandon his particular point of view but channels it into a less confrontational and disturbing story.
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
Like its protagonist, "The Idol" finds a sense of identity, hope and pride within a landscape of grim dispossession and fatalism.
Salon.com
Andrew O'Hehir
For me Abu-Assad is subtly twisting the knife in both sides at the same time: He perceives a relationship of mutual hatred and mutual dependency between Israelis and Palestinians, which has damaged both people perhaps beyond repair.
The Playlist
Kimber Myers
For all its safe choices and standard narrative, The Idol succeeds in communicating its message that the Palestinian people deserve a voice and representation.
RogerEbert.com
Christy Lemire
The musical elements of the film aren't even the most compelling parts. They're actually surprisingly cheesy.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Tirdad Derakhshani
Fans of Abu-Assad's earlier films may be puzzled by his subject matter, but they needn't worry that he has gone soft.
New York Times
Nicolas Rapold
Mr. Abu-Assad, who wrote the script with Sameh Zoabi, mounts an idealistic appreciation of music as a way of bridging boundaries through a unifying appeal to beauty, gliding past differences in the soulful pleasure of song.
Los Angeles Times
Sheri Linden
An uneven but charmingly earnest fictionalized account of Assaf's rise through the ranks of hopefuls on the reality contest "Arab Idol."
NPR
Mark Jenkins
Writer-director Hany Abu-Assad doesn't tell simple stories, even when he does.
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
Often impeded by ham-fisted, inspirational dialogue, The Idol is not likely to earn Assaf more worldwide admirers, but for those who are already in his fan club, this film will be received like a bonus gift.
San Francisco Chronicle
David Lewis
Out of the war rubble emerges one of the most irresistible movies of the year.
Film Journal International
Tomris Laffly
While Hany Abu-Assad's fact-based melodrama shows alluring authenticity early on, it wears thin towards the final act, when self-awareness overtakes its sincerity.
Village Voice
Bilge Ebiri
In presenting a somewhat fictionalized version of Assaf's journey, Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad gets the most important thing right: The Idol treats this as a story, not as history.
AV Club
Mike D'Angelo
There's a fascinating story here, but the movie never gets out of its own way long enough to tell it.
Slant Magazine
Matt Brennan
The film's clichs ultimately contain both too little conviction and too little complication.
Watch The Idol Videos
The Idol (US)
The Idol (US)
Trailer
Ya Tayr El Tayer (International Trailer)
Ya Tayr El Tayer (International Trailer)
Trailer
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