From its title, you might reasonably expect that “Who Killed Alex Odeh?” (in theaters) would be a typical true-crime documentary, bent on investigating a death and revealing the perpetrator. It’s anything but that.
Directed by Jason Osder and William Lafi Youmans, the film has no easy answers. It’s largely interested in the context around the death of Odeh, a Palestinian activist and the West Coast regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. On the morning of Oct. 11, 1985, he opened the door of his office in Santa Ana, Calif., and was killed when a pipe bomb went off. Odeh was mourned by many, including his family and community leaders, who praised his work on interfaith unity among Muslims, Jews and Christians.
But others voiced different sentiments. In the documentary, which makes extensive use of archival footage, we see Irv Rubin, then the chairman of the Jewish Defense League, tell a reporter: “I have no tears for Mr. Odeh. He got exactly, apparently, what he deserves.” The league, an extremist right-wing vigilante group, denied involvement in the bombing. But in the days after Odeh’s death, the F.B.I. identified the league as “the possible responsible group,” and several members fled to Israel.
Yet, despite the F.B.I.’s promises to continue the investigation, decades passed without a suspect being identified, and Odeh’s family mostly stopped expecting to ever learned who killed him. (Last year, on the 40th anniversary of Odeh’s death, the F.B.I. released a statement seeking information from the public on the case.)
That story is told early in “Who Killed Alex Odeh?” But the film soon pivots to the Israeli investigative journalist David Sheen as he takes up the story. He quickly finds information online that leads him to the whereabouts of the men who fled to Israel, information that investigators had said was unavailable, which makes him question why the case has not been solved before now.
And by making use of news footage, older video shot at fund-raising events and fresh interviews, the filmmakers trace both Sheen’s investigation and the broader strokes of right-wing activism and conflict in the West Bank since the 1980s. Some scenes are shocking, like hard-right leaders talking with Sheen and the filmmakers about supporting violence.
There’s a lot crammed into this movie, which makes it feel a bit haphazard at times. Perhaps more important, the focus on Odeh’s death somewhat eclipses his life: We hear briefly about his work, but it seems as if there’s a lot more that could have been explored, creating an added layer of emotional stakes for the viewer.
But there’s a lot to admire here, too. “Who Killed Alex Odeh?” is revealing, and by centering the story on Odeh’s death, it keeps human emotion at the core of the mystery. The film’s refusal to fall into easy true-crime tropes or seek a definitive answer shows just how difficult it has been for his family to feel peace. And the questions it raises — about why the case has been left unsolved for so long and about what it all means — are troubling and profoundly urgent.
The post ‘Who Killed Alex Odeh?’ Asks Good Questions About a Terrible Death appeared first on New York Times.
