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The new movie James' Journey to Jerusalem is a tale of an young, African man named James (Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe) sent by his village on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He's supposed to see the city and then, inspired by his journey, return to be the pastor. But even before he gets to Jerusalem, he's arrested on immigration charges in a scene that's both serious and comical. He mistakes the Israeli soldier for some Old Testament version of a "Hebrew woman." She mistakes him for someone looking for work.

Thrown into a jail, James prays for God's deliverance so that he might fulfill his pilgrimage. A savior of sorts arrives in the form of Shimi (Salim Daw) who has a deal with the local officials to "buy" illegal immigrants for his contracting work. Soon James is doing menial labor like cleaning and carrying, but he's a quick study, and it's not long before he's moving up the ranks to greater responsibilities. The irony is that James has become what the immigrant officials first thought he was when he arrived--a hard-working African who steals jobs from native Israelis.

One of his tasks is keeping Shimi's father, Sallah (Arie Elias), company. Sallah discovers that James used to be a farmer, so he puts James to work rebuilding his garden. Later on, Sallah realizes James has a way with backgammon dice, which leads to a comical scene where Sallah tries to cheat his friends. James enjoys the attention and the easier work, but he's also getting farther and farther away from his mission. And when Sallah challenges him to surreptitiously go into business for himself, James can't resist the lure of being his own boss.

He also can't resist the lure of material possessions. Though he initially accepted Shimi's offer of work on the condition that he could buy back his freedom and return to Africa, James finds the Israeli shopping mall to be a pilgrimage site worth visiting. A fellow worker takes him after he gets his first paycheck, and James is overwhelmed by the products and ads on display. "As it is written, a land flowing with milk and honey," he remarks, quoting the Bible. Director Ra'anan Alexandrowicz can't resist cutting away to a shot of a barren Israeli landscape--the promised fruits have been reduced to appliances.

The movie is an interesting exploration of the clash between simple spirituality and Western materialism. James arrives in Israel with naive but legitimate dreams, but those are soon overwhelmed by baser concerns. We in the audience wonder whether he'll ever see his beloved Jerusalem or make it back to Africa, and our disappointment at his growing greed is palpable. I suspect James' Journey to Jerusalem would be perfect for a high-school group. The post-film discussion would be fascinating, as the movie raises issues of ethics and religion without giving easy answers. And when James states, "When I tell my village about this place, they'll be angry with me," it raises the question of how we react when our fantasies turn out to be less than realistic. Why a high school group? Well, the film isn't that complicated, and it has a light touch with plenty of humor. This is an audience pleaser in the best sense of that term.

It helps that Shibe as the young James has an irrepressible charm about him. We start rooting for him the moment he steps off the plane, no matter how many disagreeable choices he makes. His conflicting desires are believable and, indeed, represent the struggles we all face in structuring our priorities. Director Alexandrowicz, who has a background in documentaries, keeps the story moving along while introducing interesting background characters and providing a taste of Israel we don't see on either the Travel channel or the nightly news. I especially enjoyed his portrait of an immigrant African church, complete with a pastor who suddenly grows interested in James once James acquires a better wardrobe. The movie is worth a journey.   

J. Robert Parks  3/7/2004