Annemarie Jacir does a masterful job at telling the story of the Arab revolt against the British in 1936. Situated in the British Mandate, the historical drama tells the daily realities of the Palestinians under British control whilst Jewish people from Europe are migrating back to the area, escaping persecution.
The film avoids sensationalising the issue and it makes the plot more grounded and gripping to watch, making it more effective emotionally.
The cast is part of the reason why its so compelling to watch and despite its nearly 2 hour run time, it feels like something you don`t want to miss and avoid. Key highlights would be Jeremy Irons as High Commissioner Wauchope, the complacent one in the revolt and Robert Aramayo as Captain Wingate, the villain of the piece, who personifies colonisation in the area.
The cinematography is beautifully shot and blends in with the old BBC footage of Palestine which adds to the worldbuilding of such an intense period in history that sticks with you long after the credits.
Its a must see film as the events that happened in the film still happen today, in places like Hebron, Haifa, Al Quds (Jerusalem) & Southern Lebanon.
The film can be summarised anecdotally by Author and former PLFP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), Ghassan Kanafani:
“I heard you in the other room asking your mother, ‘Mama, am I a Palestinian?’ When she answered ‘Yes’ a heavy silence fell on the whole house. It was as if something hanging over our heads had fallen, its noise exploding, then – silence. Afterwards…I heard you crying. I could not move. There was something bigger than my awareness being born in the other room through your bewildered sobbing. It was as if a blessed scalpel was cutting up your chest and putting there the heart that belongs to you…I was unable to move to see what was happening in the other room. I knew, however, that a distant homeland was being born again: hills, olive groves, dead people, torn banners and folded ones, all cutting their way into a future of flesh and blood and being born in the heart of another child…Do you believe that man grows? No, he is born suddenly – a word, a moment, penetrates his heart to a new throb. One scene can hurl him down from the ceiling of childhood onto the ruggedness of the road.”
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