James’ Journey to Jerusalem Ra’anan Alexandrowicz Israel 2003
James (Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe), a Zulu pastor on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, is mistaken for an economic migrant and jailed. Released by Shimi (Salim Daw), an Israeli human trafficker, James is given the option of working for him as a cleaner or returning to incarceration. Although Shimi holds his passport, James negotiates time off to attend church and starts to help Shimi’s estranged father work on his garden. Gradually James is seduced by the consumer lifestyle his hard work enables and he loses sight of his original pilgrimage.
Recent immigration films sweeten the epic qualities migration lends itself to, with mythic or dreamlike qualities. Normally these optimistic ventures sour and become nightmares as the dramatic potential of a thousand newspaper by-lines are drained. Broadly falling into two categories, recent additions to this growing sub-genre either follow genuine economic migrants (Lilya 4 Ever, In this World) or observe mistaken travellers’ struggle within the diplomatic laundry basket (Last Resort or Dirty Pretty Things) in a kind of hideous third world reversal of the now mandatory gap year affluent school leavers undertake.
Ra’anan Alexandrowicz’s adroit approach to the burgeoning immigration drama genre is to set James’ Journey to Jerusalem in Israel, a country claimed by immigrants after the Second World War. Merging the reasons for migration (economic and spiritual) Alexandrowicz crafts it all into a darkly sardonic parable. James’ solution to his predicament is to work hard gradually gaining money and respect from Shimi. Although James doesn’t see Jerusalem until the end of the film, quite early on he visits the mall, a neon paradise on earth where his hard work can be translated into recompense (specifically trainers and television). Before long James realises that he can do Shimi’s job better than he can and starts his own immigrant staffed cleaning firm.
Despite its dark content this film holds its head up high throughout. Marking out James’ Journey to Jerusalem from other recent immigration dramas is the central core of optimism and faith central character James possesses. Decisively for a film set in this troubled part of the world the Infitada is shown only when James is able to afford a television. On the route to first world prosperity James is now able to watch the horrors going on (almost literally) on his doorstep like the rest of us. Staunching this additional burst of reality, James’ television is soon smashed by a fellow immigrant. James’ Journey to Jerusalem covers lots of ground but including the Infitada is perhaps a step too far for the director’s boundless optimism.
