IMDb RATING
6.8/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
A Canadian doctor finds her sympathies sorely tested while working in the conflict ravaged Palestinian territories.A Canadian doctor finds her sympathies sorely tested while working in the conflict ravaged Palestinian territories.A Canadian doctor finds her sympathies sorely tested while working in the conflict ravaged Palestinian territories.
- Awards
- 5 wins & 16 nominations
Yousef 'Joe' Sweid
- Faysal
- (as Yousef Sweid)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsChloe is seen participating in a funeral procession for a martyr (a boy killed by the Israelis). The boy is in a coffin, which is incorrect - martyrs are buried in a shroud, without a coffin. In addition, in Muslim societies in the Middle East, women would generally not participate in a funeral procession - though since Chloe is a foreigner she may get away with it.
- SoundtracksNew York Nights
Written by Barrie Gledden, Steve Dymond and Jason Pedder
Featured review
A topical dramatic film that fails to deliver
Topical films are supposed to be important because they speak to compelling questions of the day like the struggle for justice for Palestinian people. This film however doesn't do the topic justice because up until two thirds (at least) of the way into it there is no real dramatic conflict: no tension, no story and a whole bunch of relationships that add up to absolutely nothing. Only when the lead character, a Quebecoise doctor working in the Territories has to save a dying Palestinian baby at one of the notorious Israeli border crossings does the film finally take off. Up until that point the lead actress plays one note and is so wooden in her performance that I actually found myself counting the moles on her neck to keep myself engaged.
The film tries to tackle the moral question as to whether terrorist acts are justifiable by Palestinians living under brutal oppression. It doesn't take much of a clear stand until the final moments of the film but (without spoiling the ending) it seems to imply that terrorist acts against Israelis are justified. There is a thin line here between what the character finds justifiable and the point the filmmaker is trying to make. Nonetheless, in the end the filmmaker seems to justify the murder of non-combatants which I think reflects both a deadly oversimplified understanding of the politics of the region and is morally indefensible.
Ironically the director is crippled by the same "white man among the savages" colonialist perspective as her protagonist. (Which is why these films generally get funding even when the purport to come out on the side of the colonized as in Dances with Wolves, Un Dimanche à Kigali, etc.). That said, the Palestinian cast is excellent, the cinematography, art direction and location shooting are production accomplishments. Unfortunately the promise of being able to learn meaningfully about an important current political and social topic were not delivered on. Even as some viewers may feel morally cleansed having gone through the experience of watching this film, in the end they will most likely not have learned much about it's context nor become sufficiently motivated to act or question the complicity of themselves or their own governments in various forms of national or racial oppression.
The film tries to tackle the moral question as to whether terrorist acts are justifiable by Palestinians living under brutal oppression. It doesn't take much of a clear stand until the final moments of the film but (without spoiling the ending) it seems to imply that terrorist acts against Israelis are justified. There is a thin line here between what the character finds justifiable and the point the filmmaker is trying to make. Nonetheless, in the end the filmmaker seems to justify the murder of non-combatants which I think reflects both a deadly oversimplified understanding of the politics of the region and is morally indefensible.
Ironically the director is crippled by the same "white man among the savages" colonialist perspective as her protagonist. (Which is why these films generally get funding even when the purport to come out on the side of the colonized as in Dances with Wolves, Un Dimanche à Kigali, etc.). That said, the Palestinian cast is excellent, the cinematography, art direction and location shooting are production accomplishments. Unfortunately the promise of being able to learn meaningfully about an important current political and social topic were not delivered on. Even as some viewers may feel morally cleansed having gone through the experience of watching this film, in the end they will most likely not have learned much about it's context nor become sufficiently motivated to act or question the complicity of themselves or their own governments in various forms of national or racial oppression.
helpful•1516
- nekoudacreative
- Sep 8, 2013
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,840
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,391
- Aug 18, 2013
- Gross worldwide
- $317,656
- Runtime1 hour 42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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