Sunday, January 13, 2013

Hollywood Beckons!


Of course, in addition to books and magazines, visual media plays an important part in how tIhis  or, indeed, any subject -  is presented – and received.  I was delighted to see that two Israeli films that deal with the Palestine/Israel “situation” have been nominated for “best documentary feature” Academy Awards.  One film, which I have seen, is “Five Broken Cameras,” a joint effort by a Palestinian photographer and an Israeli filmmaker.  The story is seen from the successive lenses of five video cameras – originally obtained to document the early childhood of a Palestinian child, but ultimately used to document life under Occupation.

 I have not yet seen the second nominee, “Gatekeepers,” but, with its story of interviews with all living Shin Bet heads, including the current one, it promises a thought-provoking look from the perspective of six different men, all with the same mission.

 A third movie, which presents life in present day Israel and Palestine is the fictional “The Other Son,” a classical “switched at birth” story of two babies – one Israeli and one Palestinian – who are forced to deal with the knowledge that they were raised in a culture very foreign to their biological heritage.  As the two young men, now 18, struggle with questions about their identity, their parents struggle with how to accept “the other” as a member of their family! In English, Hebrew, Arabic and French (with subtitles), its playing in a number of "indie" theatres.

See you at the movies!

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