Formulaic film recounts the tumultuous birth of Israel.
50
Variety
Variety
Features some first-rate cinematography and solid acting, but absolutely no sense of emotional boundaries.
50
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
What is evident from the film is that there was never any chance these two peoples could make a peaceful coexistence.
50
Boston Globe
Boston Globe
Alas, it aspires to be an epic drama but suffers from an acute identity crisis: It can't decide if it wants to be history, drama, or a cry for peace in the Mideast.
Whether on a Middle Eastern battlefield or the streets of New York, characters converse in stilted, expository mouthfuls that smother emotion.
40
The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
O Jerusalem has the virtue of energy, but it suffers from superficiality, particularly with regard to the characterizations.
40
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Makes the mistake of including too sweeping a scope in too small a movie and with too few resources.
38
Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
As a pocket history of the battles over Jerusalem in the ’40s, O Jerusalem is serviceable enough. But all the melodrama cheapens the real drama, and turns a war-torn region into a soap-opera stage.
30
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
This bloated 2006 historical epic flatlines early and never regains a pulse.