Last night I watched the 2016 movie In Between (Bar
Bahar) about three young Palestinian women who for various reasons find themselves
roommates in Tel Aviv.
The main theme was cultural, generational and gender conflict
with various relatives and friends, with little direct commentary about being
second-class citizens in Israel or occupation. This was refreshing, as the
other films I’ve been watching have a strong message of advocacy. However, I’m
looking for films that introduce newbies to the political, social, moral issues
of occupation, so this wouldn’t be a good fit.
Looking at the list I posted yesterday, this film has been
the most enjoyable to watch. For one thing, it depicts Palestinians as nuanced
and varied in their outlooks and attitudes, fully developed characters, each
with her own motivations and desires.
I fear from watching all the documentaries one might believe
that every Palestinian can recite the verbiage of UN resolution 181 by memory.
The importance of this film for me is that it shows how
nothing is static in these multi-generational conflicts. Each generation will survive
and react to the situation as it sees fit.
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