Without a doubt, the Israel-Palestine conflict has been one of the most controversial issues of the past few decades, and one on which very few movies are willing to focus. That makes Julian Schnabel's "Miral" all the more important.
The movie is based on Palestinian author Rula Jebreal's autobiography, focusing half on her childhood and half on the Dar al-Tifl Institute founded in the wake of the Deir Yassin Massacre. The institute's founder Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass) manages to keep the institute and its students safe from events outside. Miral (Freida Pinto) gets sent to Dar al-Tifl at the age of seven. Her life is mostly easy until the intifada, when Israel tightens security, making life even more difficult for the Palestinians. Miral's friend Hani (Omar Metwally) insists on taking militant action against the occupying forces, while Hind Husseini warns Miral not to do anything that endangers her future. In short, Miral has practically no good choices.
Aside from bringing up the Israel-Palestine conflict, part of what I like about "Miral" is that it shows the day-to-day lives of the Palestinians. The reminds us that these people about whom we usually hear in the context of war -- or simply get called terrorists -- are human beings. If the movie has any downside, it's that the jumping back and forth between Miral herself and Dar al-Tifl is a bit confusing at times, but overall I strongly recommend this movie.
Also starring Alexander Siddig, Makram Khoury, Willem Dafoe and Vanessa Redgrave (who of course mentioned Palestine while accepting her Oscar for "Julia").
The movie is based on Palestinian author Rula Jebreal's autobiography, focusing half on her childhood and half on the Dar al-Tifl Institute founded in the wake of the Deir Yassin Massacre. The institute's founder Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass) manages to keep the institute and its students safe from events outside. Miral (Freida Pinto) gets sent to Dar al-Tifl at the age of seven. Her life is mostly easy until the intifada, when Israel tightens security, making life even more difficult for the Palestinians. Miral's friend Hani (Omar Metwally) insists on taking militant action against the occupying forces, while Hind Husseini warns Miral not to do anything that endangers her future. In short, Miral has practically no good choices.
Aside from bringing up the Israel-Palestine conflict, part of what I like about "Miral" is that it shows the day-to-day lives of the Palestinians. The reminds us that these people about whom we usually hear in the context of war -- or simply get called terrorists -- are human beings. If the movie has any downside, it's that the jumping back and forth between Miral herself and Dar al-Tifl is a bit confusing at times, but overall I strongly recommend this movie.
Also starring Alexander Siddig, Makram Khoury, Willem Dafoe and Vanessa Redgrave (who of course mentioned Palestine while accepting her Oscar for "Julia").