Gaza Strip
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Movie Reviews of Gaza Strip
Movie Review: The most revealing look inside you can find
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this film when it was showing at the Cinema Village theater in NYC last fall. It wasn't just that "Gaza Strip" is a strong documentary about Palestinians inside the Occupied Territories -- it was that this is the *only* real presentation of Palestinians' daily lives that I have *ever* seen in a movie theater. I think this says quite a bit about the difficulty of making a film about this subject and getting it released. As some of the reviews here demonstrate, there are lots of people out there committed to silencing any Palestinian voice and hiding any picture of what is taking place away from the press offices in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. This film shows the face of military occupation, ugly, brutal and disturbing. This film lets Palestinians talk, say what they think -- there is no English narration in this film; the whole documentary is narrated by interviews in Arabic with Palestinians.
This film shows material that clearly can never be shown in our mainstream media. And it is gripping. I was literally holding on to the arms of my seat as I watched this documentary, feeling a terrible, sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach as I realized how little we are allowed to see of what is really happening in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the awful forbidden truth.
Maybe this documentary doesn't show everything -- what documenary does? It also doesn't pretend to show everything. It is very clearly documenting a side of this conflict we don't normally see: that of Palestinian non-combatant civilians.
And that is what makes it a valuable film. It's not about Hamas, it's not about Islamic Jihad. It's about the majority of Palestinians -- the ones living with 9 siblings in a Gaza slum, the ones running from the fighting and bulldozers, the Palestinians dodging bullets on their way home from school. This will not be the only film you should ever see when trying to understand the Middle East conflict -- but it should definitely be one of them. It is a document of Palestinian reality that has no equal.
Some reviewers have said this film is full of lies. I don't know exactly what they're talking about -- though they seem to have more than a touch of extreme zionist politics behind their analysis. For my part, when I watched this film I felt as if I were seeing something honest and direct about this conflict for the first time in my life.
The straight-on style of the film almost seems to look out of the eyes of its subjects. You can almost feel what it's like to be there in the Gaza Strip, a result of the non-glossy detail, the minimal music and thematic flow of scenes. This is daring documentary in many ways -- both politically and stylistically. It seems to have roots in French New Wave and radical films like The Battle of Algiers. But it also has its feet on the ground as a document, it takes enough time to flesh out incidents without being didactic. The aesthetic considerations Longley takes are kind of incredible, considering he's filming under gunfire much of the time. I can't imagine anyone making another film quite like this under such difficult circumstances. Watch it.
Movie Review: gripping and unsettling documentary
Summary: 5 Stars
This film has changed the way I look at the Palestinian - Israeli conflict. It's the first film I have ever found that really feels like an inside view of Palestinian life -- not just a light glossing-over of their situation like in the film "Promises" or on the rare news reports that actually have cameras inside the West Bank and Gaza Strip areas. Also, it was made by an American, which is unusual -- when you see the film, which is all in Arabic with english subtitles, you think it could have been made by a local person with a camera -- Longley seems to have a lot of access.One thing the DVD has that makes it excellent is an optional audio track with the director's notes on making the film. Without all of this extra information I might have had a lot of unanswered questions about how the film got made and why the director chose to film in the way he did. Instead I could watch the film a second and third time and still continue to get new information I missed before. The director audio track also has a lot of background information that isn't covered in the film itself, and explains the context of some of the scenes where it's not clear otherwise.
But all the same, this isn't really a "newsy" documentary -- it's not a bunch of interviews with international law experts or historians. This film is more experiential. You can get something like the feeling of being in that place, inside the Gaza Strip, and walking around. There is a lot of atmosphere and sound, and no distractions from the conventional narration you find in most TV documentaries. This film is more like a film for the theater, not TV.
I found watching this film a very gripping experience, and one that really expanded my understanding of what is going on over there. There is definitely a lot of stuff we Americans don't get to see on television! And what is up with some of the reviews of this film? One guy even refers to it as a "book" and gives it one star. Another one goes on and on about how everything is the Arabs' fault -- but never mentions the film! There must be people who just surf the Internet giving bad reviews to anything that is remotely critical of Israel, even if they haven't seen it/read it. Now that's dedication!
Even though this film is only about the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and doesn't interview Israelis at all, I think it's wrong to dismiss it as "one-sided". After all, films about black life under Apartheid in South Africa were valuable documents even if they didn't interview whites, and films like "The Battle of Algiers" (which this film kind of feels like, weirdly) are still great and illuminating even if they do clearly take a side. This film doesn't cover everything, but I think it's being honest about the stuff it does cover -- and that's stuff we missed in the "mainstream" media. So it's an important piece of the picture -- no film can tell it all.
Movie Review: American Media is Unbalanced
Summary: 5 Stars
"Gaza Strip" and "Promises" should be broadcast regularly on American television to counter the distorted perspective on Middle Eastern affairs presented by the American news media. I show this film to my college classes each semester, and they always ask the same question -- why don't the press and the media ever explain the Palestinian side? The American public is kept in the dark by its media. The only way to find a balanced discussion of international affairs is to seek out alternate sources and independent films like this.
It's interesting to see the anger in some of these reviews from those who can't stand to see a fair representation of both sides. Anything from the Palestinian perspective is "propaganda"! OK, so what is the Israeli-friendly American news? Truth?
Let's get real -- our foreign policy is as self-serving and hypocritical as it gets -- if you back us, we support you, no matter what crimes you commit. Our news stations back up the basic worldview of the American government -- no alternative views are permitted on primetime.
This is not to say that Hamas and the PLO are innocent, far from it. But to watch "Gaza Strip" is to begin to understand the hopelessness and degradation of the Palestinian people. Look especially at the children, so brilliantly portrayed in this film, growing up in the most degrading conditions. Conditions imposed by Israel and fully supported by the USA. Begin to understand how these abysmal social conditions -- no schools, no social services, no future -- which our government actively helps to sustain, inevitably create suicide bombers and "martyrs".
When we understand why ordinary Palestinian people -- who are no different than ordinary American people -- have got good reasons to hate the Jews and resent Americans, perhaps we, the American people will begin to question the monolithic support our government gives to Israel's anti-Palestinian policies.
Let us at least have the information that will allow us to have an honest discussion of these crucial issues here in the USA. Our ignorance doesn't keep us safe. Just the opposite. Our ignorance is more dangerous than any jihadist. Remember that the Israeli-Palestinian situation is one of the major reasons that Islamic fundamentalists use to recruit young people for martyrdom.
Why aren't Americans given the information that would allow us to make better political decisions and to vote for policies that would really be in the interests of our national security? We need to seek oyut the answers for ourselves. I recommend this film and also "Promises", which gives both Israeli and Palestinian perspectives.
Movie Review: "Never Again" Happens Again and Again
Summary: 5 Stars
"Gaza Strip," is the most potent documentaries of modern tiems. There are no angles. No one asks who started the war, or whose fault are the deaths. James Longley follows the daily routine of a kid in Gaza and the camera witnesses nothing staged, but the daily challenges and thereats to his life which the kid must navigate in order to survive.
What impressed me the most about the main child in the documentary (but also about children I have met in developing world in general) is the amazing breadth of knowledge of world affiars he has. He is barely literate and sells papers to help support his fmaily, but still he is well aware of the world leaders and international organizations that have contibuted to his living circumstances either by instituionalizing discriminatory policies or by doing nothing while Israel breaks international law.
Only those who are very secure can exist in ignorance of foreign leaders and international polcies. Those whose lives are insecure are very aware of the world palyers, because it is the decisions made overseas that jeopardize their way of life. The US gives more aid to Israel than to any other developing country. Most of it is received in the form of weapons.
This week is the anniversary of the liberation of Aushwitz when the world is saying never agin will we have the horrors that we saw in World War II, but it is empty rhetoric. Entire communities continue to be attacked by states; excpet at least in the Nazis paid for their own horrows, more and more often in modern times the US funds other states' attrocities. The Palestinians are living in increasingly ghettoized communities, on land being illegally taken away from them at the hands of the Isralei state (which should not be confused with all Israeli people, because there are many Israeli human rights groups that deplore such policies and fight them).
However, this film does not analyze policy, or poit fingers at where the weaopons come form. it does not talk about the water and land still being grabbed. It merely follows one kid around and introduces the viewer to the kid's immediate circle of acquaintances. The violence and politics are only background characters. Occasionally a friend is killed, but the incident is as if an unseen boogey man killed him, because the film does not attempt to explain the why and how such conditions were created to permit children to die so easily.
No child should ever have to live in such circumstances. Every American should be required to view this film, because without US aid, these circumstances probably would not have been created.
Movie Review: Superb Documentary: shows it like it is
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an outstanding documentary movie that shows what life is like for Palestinians in Gaza during the first few months of the second Intifada. James Longley, a young American filmmaker spent 3 1/2 months in the Gaza strip filming 75 hours of footage for this documentary, and the product reflects an accurate picture of what life is like under occupation. This film is remarkable on many counts. First, unlike many documentaries I have seen, there is no narration whatsoever during the whole length of the documentary. I was anticipating Longley would interject a few words here and there to explain the background, but instead, he allows the characters filmed to speak for themselves. Thus "Gaza Strip" looks less like a documentary, without sacrificing the clarity of the work. Another remarkable accomplishment is that Longley filmed and put together the entire feature without knowing a word of Arabic. For editing the 74 minute documentary, he had to rely on a written translation of the 75 hours of original footage. This is an enormous accomplishment, considering the superb quality of the final movie. It is interesting to note also that the music was created by Longley himself, and the artistic quality of some of the scenes also deserve mention. "Gaza Strip" captures many significant features of Gazan life under occupation: the beach being used as a highway when the Israeli army closes the main road; daily Israeli shooting sprees in Rafah; the damage to the buildings from gunfire; home demolitions; the disastrous economic effects, etc.. In one of the most moving scenes, Longley captures an Israeli missile attack on Gaza city, showing how it feels like from the streets. "Gaza Strip" also captures on tape the victims of a strange Israeli chemical attack. The central feature of the movie, however, is young child roaming the streets selling cakes to make a living, who is not shy of the camera and voluntarily acts as a tour guide of his world.
James Longley should be commended for making this fine documentary which deserves the highest of awards. I recommend this to anyone wanting to know what really is happening. This is reporting at its best. Welcome to Gaza, fasten your seatbelts, and thank your God that bullets don't go through the TV screen.
For a unique experience of the first day of the Intifada in Jerusalem, I recommend you also get Hazim Bitar's "Jerusalem's High Cost of Living". A similar travelogue from the first Intifada can be found in the unique comic documentary "Palestine" by Joe Sacco.