James' Journey to Jerusalem
Encyclopedia
James' Journey to Jerusalem is a 2003
Israel
i film
directed
by Ra'anan Alexandrowicz and produced by Renen Schorr
.
journey, on behalf of his village, towards the Holy Land
, Israel
, and especially in order to come to Jerusalem. Upon arriving in Israel, James is suspected to be an illegal foreign worker and as a result he is arrested. Shimi (Salim Daw), a contractor of foreign workers, releases him on bail to work with him. After James explains to him that he did not travel to Israel to work, Shimi clarifies to him that since he paid for his release, James now owes him. Therefore James is forced to interrupt his journey and begin working for Shimi.
Shimi tries to gain a profit at James' expense and makes him work for other people as well. Shimi's wife sees him as a kind of an amusement. Salah, Shimi's father, soon discovers that James is exceptionally lucky rolling dice and he decides to exploit this in order to win in backgammon
games against his friends. James hopes to pay his debt to Shimi so that he can finally reach Jerusalem, but as time passes he learns how to conduct with the locals. James starts managing his foreign worker friends, and soon he becomes a cheap labor contractor himself, just like Shimi. James buys himself nice clothes, a mobile phone and a TV. As a result, he forgets about the pilgrimage.
Eventually James remembers the original reason for which he arrived in Israel, but it is already too late – he is arrested by the immigration police and transferred to an Israeli prison. The prison is located in the Russian Compound in Jerusalem, and so as he is handcuffed, James finally gets to see the city for which his village prays to.
2003 in film
The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Ra'anan Alexandrowicz and produced by Renen Schorr
Renen Schorr
Renen Schorr is a film director, screenwriter, film producer. In 1989, he became head of Israel’s first independent, national school for film and television. He then founded the Sam Spiegel Film & TV School – Jerusalem, and has served as its director since that time.-Background:Son of a physician,...
.
Plot
The film's plot focuses on an African teenager named James (Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe) whom hails from the fictional African village Entshongweni, who goes on a pilgrimagePilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
journey, on behalf of his village, towards the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and especially in order to come to Jerusalem. Upon arriving in Israel, James is suspected to be an illegal foreign worker and as a result he is arrested. Shimi (Salim Daw), a contractor of foreign workers, releases him on bail to work with him. After James explains to him that he did not travel to Israel to work, Shimi clarifies to him that since he paid for his release, James now owes him. Therefore James is forced to interrupt his journey and begin working for Shimi.
Shimi tries to gain a profit at James' expense and makes him work for other people as well. Shimi's wife sees him as a kind of an amusement. Salah, Shimi's father, soon discovers that James is exceptionally lucky rolling dice and he decides to exploit this in order to win in backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
games against his friends. James hopes to pay his debt to Shimi so that he can finally reach Jerusalem, but as time passes he learns how to conduct with the locals. James starts managing his foreign worker friends, and soon he becomes a cheap labor contractor himself, just like Shimi. James buys himself nice clothes, a mobile phone and a TV. As a result, he forgets about the pilgrimage.
Eventually James remembers the original reason for which he arrived in Israel, but it is already too late – he is arrested by the immigration police and transferred to an Israeli prison. The prison is located in the Russian Compound in Jerusalem, and so as he is handcuffed, James finally gets to see the city for which his village prays to.
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe | James |
| Salim Daw | Shimi |
| Arie Elias | Salah |
| Sandra Schonwald | Rachel |
| Hugh Masebenza | Skomboze |
| Florence Bloch | Re'uma |
| Ya'akov Ronen Morad | Police Officer |