Corner Store

2011 • 51 minutes

About this movie

A sweet smile brightens up Yousef's face: "This morning I received a call from the lawyer, I got the approval for my visa". At long last, Yousef is able to go home to Palestine to visit his family. After the years of separation, and 59 hours of travel Yousef is finally reunited with his family. His youngest son, who was two years-old when he last saw him, is now a teenager. His older son is no longer a child, "it's exciting", he exclaims, "I have a man!" His wife also instantly recognizes the changes America has wrought on her husband, "because he works hard, he looks older". Although his return has elicited excitement, there remains a tense awareness that one way or another all of their lives will change forever.
The life Yousef leads in San Francisco is far from the American dream. Working 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, Yousef spends his time trying to make as much money as possible to build a better future for his wife and children. He explains that, "Anything I have, I have worked hard for. I want to do my best to give them a good life". At the end of the day, he goes to bed in a room at the back of the store, hoping that one day, he and his family will live together again.
After a few days in his native Bethlehem, Yousef becomes keenly aware of the differences between America and the culture he left behind. He questions whether he wants to uproot his children and plunge them into an American society that does not share their values, "Maybe they won't like their life in America". After ten years in a different world he yearns to stay in Palestine. But around every corner is a reminder of how difficult it is to live under occupation, and how the political situation affects every day in Bethlehem.
This gentle documentary shows us the heart of a family man trapped between two worlds: "in this life nothing comes easy. There are a lot of things you have to pay for and the price is always high."

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