Like director Eytan Fox’s previous Walk on Water, The Bubble is thematically ambitious, well
performed and yet, for all that, somewhat disappointing. Fox has positioned himself as Israeli cinema’s heroic destroyer of taboos (Walk on Water found a Jewish secret agent befriending an aged Nazi’s grandchildren), and The Bubble features his most controversial set-up yet. In what must be the only erotic checkpoint-crossing scene in movie history, Israeli guard Noam (Ohad Knoller) becomes smitten with passing Palestinian Ashraf (Yousef Sweid).

The long stretch detailing their burgeoning relationship is enjoyable in a way that has nothing to do with political-gauntlet dropping. The principals are attractive and funny, the script is peppered with superior sitcom-style dialogue, underlaid with a hipster-baiting soundtrack. Most of the good stuff is delivered by Noam’s bitchy roommates (Alon Friedmann and Daniela Wircer), whose own respective romantic travails — he’s crushing on Noam; she’s withholding sex from her boyfriend — get some space to develop.

Fox’s focus starts narrowing, however, moving the story in a predictably (and, to be fair, plausibly) stressful direction. The shift in tone from airy to heavy suggests a filmmaker trying to make a statement, but the fact is The Bubble is more affecting in its casual details than its too-carefully prepared tragedies.