The white Ford vans driving around all over Palestine once belonged to the Israeli army. After the Oslo Agreements, they were given to former Palestinian collaborators as a source of income. Soon, they were sold and employed as taxis. Today, thousands of these vans drive around, which makes the market fairly saturated. Director Hany Abu-Assad accompanies cab driver Rajai and his passengers in Ramallah and Jerusalem, along roadblocks and short cuts. The passengers make up a heterogeneous company with divergent opinions about the situation in Palestine and views of the conflict with Israel. Apart from ordinary people, local celebrities such as politician Hanan Ashrawi and filmmaker B.Z. Goldberg ride Rajai’s van.
With the bus passengers, the whole film meanders along some of the determining elements of Rajai’s life, so we not only gain insight of this young man’s character and background, but also of the complex situation in the region. For example, we hear about Rajai’s family, his sidelines such as smuggling illegal CDs, his view of the political situation and (im)possible solutions for it, his dream of a future abroad, and his fascination with and even appreciation of the perpetrators of suicide attacks. But above all, his frustration with his life as a taxi driver emerges. Like everywhere, this mainly consists of finding customers before they choose to take another taxi.
