In this delicate era when entertainment in America is bogged by indecency concerns, political correctness and discussions of "how soon is too soon", it isn't surprising that a foreign comedy has bettered us in being more amusing, more respectful and more insightful about the touchy subjects of war, terrorism and racism. Only Human is above all an innocent farce detailing your typical fiancée-meets-parents setup, but it uses the conventional plot for more than just a spotlight on wacky family members and screwball situations, serving also as a simple statement about some absurd perspectives on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The engaged couple in this Spanish-UK co-production is a pairing of a Jewish woman and her Palestinian beau, which undeniably takes on allegorical significance, yet doesn't lend itself to any overt political deliberation. Instead it deals with the conflict through an outsider's point of view, concerning itself with problems of generalized and accepted perceptions rather than deep, involved interests.
When Leni (Marián Aguilera) brings Rafi (Guillermo Toledo) home, her family is under the impression that he is Jewish, too, and so it takes a bit of time before the social commentary sets in. It never takes racial issues to make for uncomfortable introductions, though, and there are plenty of colorful kin around to participate in the initial judgment of Leni's prospective husband in the usual, most basic customs. And it is not any sort of bigotry that sets the ball rolling against Rafi, either. It is his own awkward and bumbling actions that move the madcap story along, as if he were Madrid's answer to "Gaylord Focker", and foremost the film remains throughout its 89-minute running-time a fast-paced comedy of errors revolving around Rafi's accidentally dropping a container of frozen soup out of the seventh-floor apartment's window.
The film eventually explores the idea of blind prejudice, before and after the family is let in on Rafi's background, with the fact that his physical appearance isn't revealing of his race. Each family member has a different function in the issue, with Leni's blind grandfather (Max Berliner) being in a blatantly literal position -- in addition to his old-world heritage and Israeli Army experience also giving him the nationalist partiality role -- and her precocious young niece (Alba Molinero), who walks around with a pillow under her shirt claiming to be pregnant with the immaculate conception, taking on the part of chaste incomprehension. Older sister Tania (María Botto) is consequentially indifferent and teen-aged brother David (Fernando Ramallo), who is going through an Orthodox phase, personifies traditional bias, though not with a completely closed mind. Before totally discriminating against Rafi, he begins an investigation to confirm that -- not determine if -- he is a terrorist.
As a representative of the hopeless, axiomatic attitude toward the conflict, it is the Jewish matriarch, Gloria, played with deadpan brilliance by the Oscar-nominated actress Norma Aleandro, who is the most telling character of all. Combining a bit of detachment, a touch of tradition and a whole lot of passive concession, she makes statements like, "there will be peace in Israel before my husband gives me an orgasm," which say more about her cynicism towards the nation's future than towards her chances of a good sex life. Once she is told that Rafi is Palestinian, she treats the relationship between her daughter and future son-in-law with a casual expectancy of star-crossed doom. "Jews kill Palestinians and Palestinians kill Jews," she tells the couple without even giving the remark much thought. Continuing with a nonchalant ignorance, she tells Leni that Rafi's destiny is to either blow her up or blow himself up, taking her with him.
She almost seems to be half-joking in her racism, but she claims one thing to be certain: That some time or another, Leni and Rafi are going to end up taking sides on the Middle East issue, and it will ultimately be the death of their marriage. Of course, they do eventually have a big argument, and of course their disagreements build outward until Leni is defending Israel and Rafi is advocating Palestinian offensives and they are both verbally reenacting the history of the Promised Land. The film doesn't cave into this to so much prove Gloria right, however. It is simply an acknowledgment of how difficult it is to ignore their respective relationships to the conflict, as a realistic, underlying tension between them. In order to get along, whether as nations or as spouses, there is no forgive and forget anymore than there is accept and avoid. There can only be tolerance and compromise.
Only Human was written and directed by the husband-and-wife team of Dominic Harari (he's British) and Teresa Pelegri (she's Spanish), who expectedly provide a balanced insight into the relationships of Leni and Rafi and of Gloria and her mostly absent husband, Ernesto (Mario Martín), while also showing a first-hand understanding of couples with cultural differences. They actually wrote the script in New York and originally planned for it to take place in London, which might have made it more accessible had it been shot in English, but being released in Spain soon after the terrorist attacks in Madrid made for significant relevance in its setting. Nonetheless, the story and its issues are both universally pertinent, and it is easy to imagine it taking place anywhere.
Without being shot in Spain, though, it might not have had the luxury of starring Toledo, who could easily become the greatest comedic screen presence outside of America and Britain. His physical prowess and clownish expressionism in Only Human is superb, which proves that his seeming incompetence in the film Crimen ferpecto, which was released stateside last year, was merely a mishandling of his talents by director Álex de la Iglesia. Harari and Pelegri use him perfectly (as opposed to ferpectly?) in their amazing command of tone and energy. Though a lot of their comedic direction consists of panning the camera to reveal a punchline or gag, they manage to keep the action rampant and riotous, allowing little time to ponder the simplicity of their technique.
Only Human is constantly funny and rarely a drag, even when it does decrease its pace a little in the second half, and it is admirably thoughtful toward its characters and its issues of thoughtlessness. It won't bring peace to the Middle East, but it does bring a little peace of mind to know that a film can address the elephant in the room by way of calling attention to the occupants trying to look the other way.
