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In Ra’anan Alexandrowicz’s delightful movie, the best entry in last year’s Boston Jewish Film Festival, James (played with limpid depth and gritty humor by Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe), a young pilgrim from the fictitious African village of Entshongweni, travels to Israel to be the first from his Christian community to set foot in Jerusalem, "the center of the universe." But the Promised Land turns out to be more like the Promised Scam. At the Tel-Aviv airport, James is arrested as an illegal alien and then "redeemed" by Shimi (Salim Daw), a dealer in immigrant labor. The innocent visitor maintains his faith while enduring such unexpected torments and temptations as hourly wages and shopping malls, all of them delaying his dreamed-of journey. It occurs to James that by increasing his income, he will get closer to his goal; soon he becomes an entrepreneur himself, armed with a cell phone and a hardening attitude as he piles up earnings from his own work force of illegals. His determination withers before the assaults of greed, selfishness, and cynicism, but not entirely: a remnant of purity and faith endures, as does a wry sense of humor. Devoid of sentiment, full of compassion and wisdom, James restores faith in both the Holy Land and movies. In Hebrew, English, and Zulu with English subtitles. (87 minutes)
BY PETER KEOUGH
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