(Eid milad Laila) The teeming chaos of Ramallah as seen through a taxi driver’s eyes is an unlikely setting for a rudely funny, wryly ironic comedy, but “Laila’s Birthday” is that high-flying bird. Writer-director Rashid Masharawi doesn’t stint on politics, with passengers in the cab driven by Abu Laila (Mohamed Bakri) offering perspectives on contemporary events: at moments, “Laila’s” is a cross between Kiarostami’s “10” and Scorsese’s “After Hours.” Returning a lost cell phone is the good deed that leads the story’s turns: this is a compact road movie rich with implication. Perfectly paced, the film rushes toward an ideal ending. The street-level HD photography is splendid. With Mohammed Bakri, Nour Zoubi. 71m. DigiBeta. (Ray Pride)
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