Search - Gaza Strip on DVD

This film shows the reality behind the conflict

Rose Daley | New York, NY | 12/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe you don't know much about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict; maybe you know an awful lot. But either way, this is a film that you ought to see. At once delicate and terrifying, this documentary is a rare glimpse inside the Gaza Strip, a place most of us only hear about and can barely imagine. More than a glimpse, actually, this film is more like a long, hard stare.
We start off following in the footsteps of a 13-year-old Gaza boy, Mohammed, who works a paper boy and throws rocks at Israeli tanks in his spare time. Through his eyes we are led deeper and deeper into one of the most intractable conflicts around, and we see a side of it that almost never gets seen, especially in the US.
This film has a wider scope than the stone throwing kids of Gaza City, however -- it extends all the way south into the Rafah refugee camp and lingers for long periods in Khan Yunis, the site of a very disturbing gas attack on a Palestinian refugee camp by the Israeli military. This scene is so controversial that it has aroused a lot of argument in interested circles -- inclusion in a BBC documentary and fierce denials by the Israelis that such things ever happened at all.
Many important issues are covered in this film -- we witness children being shot at, the demolition of Palestinian homes by the Israeli military, and the growing sense of hopelessness among Palestinian civilians. In very telling scenes, we see what seems to be the genesis of a new generation of suicide bombers, giving up all hope for life on this earth.
This is not a happy film, but it is an honest one -- and one filled with dense layers of meaning. This is not simply journalism or a man filming interviews with officials -- this documentary is a piece of art, and a cry for justice."

TO DEBUNK THE RADICAL FROM SANTA BARBARA

Stephen M. Amy | Portland, OR United States | 09/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The reviewer from Santa Barbara who questions the authenticity of this documentary gives him or herself away with the complaint that no Jewish settlers were interviewed for the film. The reviewer from Santa Barbars states, factually, that "thousands of Jews live in Gaza"---to which I say *exactly!*, you fool, there are settlements on the best land (easiest access to water from acquifer) which house a few thousand Jews in luxury and are consuming a full 30% of a small parcel of land that is legally the property of the Palestinian state, which squeezes over a million into the other 70% of this small parcel.Apartheid is alive and well and in violation of UN resolutions and the 4th Geneva Convention in the occupied territories, and this film shows it how it is."

Changed me

Martin Forman | United States of America | 01/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I will never look at the Mid East conflict the same way again after watching this film. It's something I always wanted and never had, to look inside at the Palestinian's world. And this film gave me that chance. Can't recommend it more highly."

I hope those whom have chosen to rate this film poorly are a

thachozun1 | 03/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is sad. The movie breaks my heart. I wish I were a dog. Then, I could not be held responsible for all that the human race has proven themselves capable of.

It disgusts me further to think that one reviewer decided that since it is not a film about the suffering of his own people from North Korea, it is not nearly as heart wrenching. In further responce to that individual, to date the intifada has claimed more than 800 Israeli lives. And for every Israeli life taken, approximately 5 Palestinian lives were lost. Even if it were 3 lives, it is unacceptable.

Then we have individuals who are so anti opposing view, that they have chosen to remain in their bubble without even viewing the film. Yet, for some reason, they feel compelled to post a review. They are what is wrong with humanity. Actually, they define the lack there of. If it were their child who was forced to grow up and die in as humiliating a life as some of those depicted in the film, they are either liars or fools to believe that they would not react in the same ways.

Those who may feel that the film was anti-Semitic are justifiable. It is. It is, because the actions often taken by the Israelis are a strong argument against "humanity". I don't feel that violence, in any form, is ACCEPTABLE. But I am advanced enough to UNDERSTAND it.

An open mind is difficult to maintain. And admittedly, I am (and have been for years) a sympathizer of the plight of the Palestinians. I am an idealist. So does that also make me a terrorist?"