I love a movie that does everything right—dialog, cinematography, acting, plot, redeeming value, relevance—and Miral is just that movie.
Miral is a must-see. And for those of you with an aversion to subtitles, there are only a few, so you will be fine. Based on Rula Jebreal's novel about her own life, the movie walks us through the inception of the State of Israel and the ensuing escalation of the Palestinian conflict that followed, all through the eyes of a young girl whose life is shaped by that conflict rather than by her own goals and aspirations.
I have to say something here. If someone's real life is filled with people dying, torture, and deceit, and the person telling the story is always the victim or always did the right thing in a sea of others who didn't, one has to wonder. I just don't believe her when she talks about how she behaved when she was picked up by the army. Sorry. Maybe it's not that important, but when something doesn't pass the smell test, you have to acknowledge it. Her story is a self-serving litany of justifications for her decisions, one of which cost someone their life.
A recurring theme in Miral is displacement and the carnage that results from it. Miral and her mother were displaced, and her Palestinian people were displaced. We all learn from this film that displacement kills hope faster than the Israeli flag was designed after they took the land.
There are many dissonant messages in the film that make it one of the best movies of the year thus far. Perhaps the most important of these is the movie's portrayal of a fabulous girl's school (which is still standing) that educates young female minds from behind a hedge of denial of events outside its walls. It's like The Secret Garden, but somehow that's believable. There can be no hope for peace in the Middle East if oases of normality can't exist amid seas of insanity.
Some will say the story is all about Miral, but I think her father, Jamal, is an equally important character with much more to teach. Jamal is a forgiving man, but Miral mistakes his forgiveness for weakness and denial. She thinks he's hiding behind a God that has forsaken them, but he's not. He is choosing forgiveness and focusing on what he finds important, which is Miral herself. Everyone should have a parent like that. And we should all understand that it's our choice to forgive or fight, and that one must weigh the consequences of each option before making the choice. Alexander Siddig portrays Jamal perfectly, slowly, without much dialog but with ever so much emotion. Why don't we see him more?
The story moves quickly and covers a large stretch of time, but you never feel rushed, or that you missed anything. That's hard to do when your story spans fifty years in two short hours. I never really understood the genesis of Israel, or how it came into being so quickly. It's like Los Angeles, a city that grew too fast to allow for city planning, and they have been struggling with the consequences ever since. No solutions can be implemented when you take land away from entire people to make room for their arch enemies, just band aids.
I know I've said this before about other films, but this is another one of those movies that should be shown in schools, in homes, in the Knesset, and anywhere else where people are sure of their point of view about who is right and wrong in this conflict. I wonder what would happen if it were required viewing for all Palestinians and Israelis.
Julian Schnabel is a wonderful director, so wonderful that no one part of the movie stands out as his. He just wove the tale, brilliantly and sensitively, and a grateful nation or two should thank him. On behalf of mine, thank you. Please go see it. Take someone with you who is sure that Israel is totally right or that Israel is totally wrong, and then go to a coffee shop and talk about it.
Miral is a must-see. And for those of you with an aversion to subtitles, there are only a few, so you will be fine. Based on Rula Jebreal's novel about her own life, the movie walks us through the inception of the State of Israel and the ensuing escalation of the Palestinian conflict that followed, all through the eyes of a young girl whose life is shaped by that conflict rather than by her own goals and aspirations.
I have to say something here. If someone's real life is filled with people dying, torture, and deceit, and the person telling the story is always the victim or always did the right thing in a sea of others who didn't, one has to wonder. I just don't believe her when she talks about how she behaved when she was picked up by the army. Sorry. Maybe it's not that important, but when something doesn't pass the smell test, you have to acknowledge it. Her story is a self-serving litany of justifications for her decisions, one of which cost someone their life.
A recurring theme in Miral is displacement and the carnage that results from it. Miral and her mother were displaced, and her Palestinian people were displaced. We all learn from this film that displacement kills hope faster than the Israeli flag was designed after they took the land.
There are many dissonant messages in the film that make it one of the best movies of the year thus far. Perhaps the most important of these is the movie's portrayal of a fabulous girl's school (which is still standing) that educates young female minds from behind a hedge of denial of events outside its walls. It's like The Secret Garden, but somehow that's believable. There can be no hope for peace in the Middle East if oases of normality can't exist amid seas of insanity.
Some will say the story is all about Miral, but I think her father, Jamal, is an equally important character with much more to teach. Jamal is a forgiving man, but Miral mistakes his forgiveness for weakness and denial. She thinks he's hiding behind a God that has forsaken them, but he's not. He is choosing forgiveness and focusing on what he finds important, which is Miral herself. Everyone should have a parent like that. And we should all understand that it's our choice to forgive or fight, and that one must weigh the consequences of each option before making the choice. Alexander Siddig portrays Jamal perfectly, slowly, without much dialog but with ever so much emotion. Why don't we see him more?
The story moves quickly and covers a large stretch of time, but you never feel rushed, or that you missed anything. That's hard to do when your story spans fifty years in two short hours. I never really understood the genesis of Israel, or how it came into being so quickly. It's like Los Angeles, a city that grew too fast to allow for city planning, and they have been struggling with the consequences ever since. No solutions can be implemented when you take land away from entire people to make room for their arch enemies, just band aids.
I know I've said this before about other films, but this is another one of those movies that should be shown in schools, in homes, in the Knesset, and anywhere else where people are sure of their point of view about who is right and wrong in this conflict. I wonder what would happen if it were required viewing for all Palestinians and Israelis.
Julian Schnabel is a wonderful director, so wonderful that no one part of the movie stands out as his. He just wove the tale, brilliantly and sensitively, and a grateful nation or two should thank him. On behalf of mine, thank you. Please go see it. Take someone with you who is sure that Israel is totally right or that Israel is totally wrong, and then go to a coffee shop and talk about it.