Butcher's Stain

Bluesky

“Why doesn’t he stand up for himself?” That’s the question people keep asking about the lead character in Meyer Levinson-Blount’s Oscar-nominated short film Butcher’s Stain. Some people will need to watch the whole film and then go away and think about it to begin to figure out the answer. To others, it will be obvious as soon as they take in that he’s an Arab man working in an Israeli supermarket.

People in the supermarket are upset. Posters displaying the faces of hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October 2003 have been found on the floor of the break room. The first Samir (Omar Sameer) hears about it is when he’s summoned to the office by supervisor Michal (Rona Toledano), who says that another staff member has accused him of tearing them down. He’s a good employee, she says, so if he confesses and apologises, they can put it behind them. If he doesn’t, it will have to go to disciplinary measures.

Samir might be meek, but he’s not about to admit to something he didn’t do. He tries to set it aside and focus on other aspects of his life, but things aren’t going so well there either – his ex-wife isn’t sticking to their agreement and he’s not getting the time that he’s supposed to with Adam, their small son. He talks to a colleague who seems sympathetic. He overhears the boss, Israel, saying that they can’t afford to fire him because it’s really hard to find butchers who will work for minimum wage. Still, matters escalate.

One of the most nuanced and heartfelt films in this year’s competition, this is, astoundingly, a début effort. Levinson-Blount is still a film student. He’s Jewish himself, but not unobservant. He can see something of what it’s like to navigate the world as a person dispossessed of power. Samir does his best to live a good life, a full life, but he understands the limits of his freedom. Perhaps, thanks to this film, others will too.

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