Greetings from Jesus' homeland Israeli nominee for foreign-language Oscar
The Israeli film won six National Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film takes place mainly in Bethlehem, the city where Christ was born. More specifically, this is the story of the uneasy relationship between Israeli intelligence officer Razi and his Palestinian informant Sanfour. Recruited as a teenager, 17-year-old Sanfour has been supplying Jerusalem with information about possible terrorist attacks for two years, one of which is directly related to his older brother Ibrahim, a radical Muslim militant. The Israeli authorities want Sanfur to hand over his brother, but only Razi understands what this could threaten his informant.
The film, deeply immersed in particular in the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation, for this very reason, causes serious tension for some time, because it recreates the specifics of the conflict between the two long-distant parties in too much detail. And this circumstance can cause rejection of especially impatient spectators. However, those who overcome the barbed wire of emotional alienation will be rewarded. And once the drama is localized to the relationship of the two main characters, there will be feelings and sympathy for the characters. Moreover, the film will give at least two very strong scenes, which in modern times in itself is a considerable achievement.
For me, it was a revelation that this is a sortie into the Palestinian autonomy, and a proper armed action carried out on foreign territory. I was seriously struck by the operation of capture and elimination of the main militant. So, during the elimination of the terrorist in Bethlehem (Bethlehem), a small Israeli detachment that besieges an Arab house, in turn, is attacked by local residents, armed mainly with cobblestones. The illusion of a near-documentary movie has a powerful and almost shocking effect, even though, by and large, I didn’t care which side the truth was on. But the voltage energy coming from the screen is so powerful that it completely captures attention.
In the finale, the film overcomes the boundaries of both military and psychological drama, managing to perch on the coturns of an almost ancient epic. In any case, such a high level of tragedy, when existential necessity forces you to make a choice between life and death, is not found in today’s cinema. Therefore, it is quite understandable to pay attention to this picture in Israel, where local academics hand over to Bethlehem all their main “Ofevre”. According to director Yuval Adler, who made his film debut and co-wrote the script with a Palestinian journalist, this film was a revelation even for his compatriots, since it had little to do with what is published in the local media.
What’s also important to note is that it’s made mostly with amateur actors, mostly first-time on-screen but so convincingly and vividly that local professionals need to think seriously about their future. Realistically conveying the details of what is happening in the Palestinian Authority, painting the peculiarities of the local mentality, the climate of political life and the confrontation between terrorist groups - the so-called "Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades" and Hamas, the creators of the picture did not specifically indicate a clear line between black and white. And perhaps it was the lack of a pronounced author’s position on a contentious political and territorial issue that led to the fact that in the end they managed to create the most popular Israeli film of the year in their country.