The Bubble (Hebrew: הבועה, romanized: HaBuah) is a 2006 romantic drama directed by Eytan Fox telling the story of two men who fall in love, one Israeli and one Palestinian.
Soon it is agreed that Ashraf will move in with them and work in Yali's restaurant as a Jew under the name Shimi, as he could not be openly gay in the Palestinian territories like he can in the more liberal and cosmopolitan city of Tel Aviv.
He and Lulu go to the West Bank identifying themselves as French television journalists and find Ashraf at his parents' house and there the two men kiss.
The next morning, Ashraf's sister is killed by stray bullets in a military raid seeking those responsible for the Tel Aviv bombing, before his very eyes.
The film ends with Noam talking about the love the two shared, wondering whether they ever had a chance, wishing for a place where they can just love each other, and hoping that people will see "how stupid these wars are", over a scene of young Noam and young Ashraf playing together as children in Jerusalem, their mothers sitting side by side.
In telling about his experiences with coming out of the closet, he described the struggle he and his father experienced in reaching an understanding, which only truly was achieved around the time of filming this project.
Very shortly after the film's premiere, and after confessing his final understanding of his son, Eytan's father died due to a heart attack.
[6] Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune wrote “Director and co-writer Eytan Fox is going for a sexually democratic, politically aware variation on story themes familiar to “Sex and the City” viewers.
(At one point Lulu is referred to as “Miss Israeli Carrie Bradshaw.”) Surprisingly, it works, and the entire cast is excellent.”[5] Sylvie Simmons from the San Francisco Chronicle wrote “The Bubble surprises us at every turn.”[5] Dennis Harvey from Variety wrote “Eytan Fox delivers another involving tale in The Bubble.”[5] Ivri Lider composed most of the soundtrack for the film, and sings the song "Loving That Man of Mine".