Perhaps one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the world currently is in Palestine. While Americans hear about it all the time, few really are able to envision it or understand it. Again, thanks to the wonders of documentary film and foriegn film, there are a couple of excellent outlets to get a accurate visual picture of the current situation in Palestine. One is the magnificent 2001 documentary feature film Promises. One comes to an understanding of the nonstop cycle of hatred by hearing the words of children. For a more lighthearted take on the situation, but still altogether profound, I HIGHLY recommend a film that was one of my favorite films of 2007, Eran Kolirin's masterwork The Band's Visit. Most recently, Ari Folman's animated documentary feature Waltz With Bashir got a lot of awards attention last year for its unique depiction of the Israeli war against the Arab state of Lebanon. Trailers for all three films can be seen below. There is one other masterpiece of a film on the subject, but I will let you in on that film next week because it will be the sixth and final film of the Season 5 Film Festival.Thursday, April 16, 2009
Films Tackling the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Perhaps one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the world currently is in Palestine. While Americans hear about it all the time, few really are able to envision it or understand it. Again, thanks to the wonders of documentary film and foriegn film, there are a couple of excellent outlets to get a accurate visual picture of the current situation in Palestine. One is the magnificent 2001 documentary feature film Promises. One comes to an understanding of the nonstop cycle of hatred by hearing the words of children. For a more lighthearted take on the situation, but still altogether profound, I HIGHLY recommend a film that was one of my favorite films of 2007, Eran Kolirin's masterwork The Band's Visit. Most recently, Ari Folman's animated documentary feature Waltz With Bashir got a lot of awards attention last year for its unique depiction of the Israeli war against the Arab state of Lebanon. Trailers for all three films can be seen below. There is one other masterpiece of a film on the subject, but I will let you in on that film next week because it will be the sixth and final film of the Season 5 Film Festival.
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6 comments:
Wow, Promises is something I really wanna see. It's so real and you really get the feeling of this tension. When the Arab children shook hands with the Jewish children, I had a few tears. When that Arab girl said that she thought Arab and Jews should meet, kids not politicians, that really showed hope. Children on both sides wanted to hear the others opinion and story on the situation. With an attitude of tolerance and some respect for each other, there could be some peace between the two later on. If children are willing to hear the story and be open-minded, why can't adults? The Jewish kid claims it's Jewish land and the Arabs took it. The Arab kid says Israel is for the Arabs only. Young kids are already taught hate and how Israel belongs to them, not the other. But it also shows that these children are not ignorant of their situation and life, unlike youth in the U.S. who can be very ignorant and oblivious to their surroundings.
id like to see waltz with bashir. i am interested in how the soldiers are affected by what they are doing. it seems most are not ok with the fact they are destroying lives and this seems to be a good example of that
Mr Prill
I just wanted to say that right now on Time Magaznie website you can vote for the most influential people in the world in 2009. I thought it was pretty cool, just wanted to point it out.
I really want to see The Band's Visit. After watching the preview before Persepolis, and then reading what you wrote, it looks like something that would be really interesting. I would also want to watch Promises, because it looks like a film that would just show the points of view of these kids in a real, influential way, which I think would be an eye-opener.
Waltz with rashid seems to be an interesting animation film. its like real life but in cartoon form. never heard of that before.
Waltz with Bashir seems to be interesting.
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