How is the role of a mayor in the de facto capital of Palestine different from that of one in any other city? The answer: not much. In fact, the daily routine of Musa Hadid, the main subject of David Osit’s 2020 documentary Mayor, is at most times quite banal. The film opens in a meeting between him and some council members, which becomes heated very quickly. You’d think they were discussing some crucial budget cuts or infrastructure planning, but in reality, they’re talking about consolidating their branding.
After this moment passes we’ll go on to see the unique struggles Hadid faces as the mayor of Ramallah—among which include a lack of proper sewage systems, political pressure during a visit from Prince William, and an ever-militant IDF flouting their jurisdiction—but we’re never made to forget the mundane issues he and other local governments around the world face every day. In fact, Mayor succeeds precisely because it doesn’t focus on the events you’d hear about on CNN or the BBC. Instead, it finds room to portray not only happiness and comedy in the lives of Palestinians, but also everyday indignation and annoyance that arises from modern life, not just from geopolitical conflict.
Despite being a documentary, Mayor almost never makes use of techniques often found in documentaries, like interviews, b-roll, and informational graphics. Rather, it’s shot and edited like a narrative film. In each scene we’re diegetically introduced to the setting (ex. a budget hearing, a school inspection, a demonstration), the principal characters (Hadid, a councilmember, a journalist), and the conflict (the sewage is piling up, the IDF is seizing security footage from businesses, these family photos are really cute). From there we’re simply left to watch and see what happens. Only at two notable moments is this method subverted, and I think it’s best to let you experience them in the film itself rather than spoil them here.
Even though Mayor was filmed before the pandemic began, it manages to capture the sensation of what it feels like to be working in a time like this—doing something that must be done, yet feels inconsequential in the midst of everything else. If anything that feeling has only intensified for Palestinians, for whom existing injustices have only been exacerbated as the months roll on. There has been and will continue to be tons of art that focuses on the people whose lives are affected by the severe inequality and state violence present in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but I believe Mayor will remain iconic among them.
With heartfelt, terrifying, awkward, and comical vignettes, it tells its story on a personal level, while also examining the infrastructure around communities of people and showing how those systems are more necessary than ever in times of strife. Not only is Mayor one of the funniest documentaries I’ve seen in spite of its subject matter, but it’s also one one of the most timely movies right now.
4.5/5 STARS