DVD Review - Free Zone
I was surprised by how much I liked Amos Gitai's film Free Zone. I say surprised because the film didn't get great reviews and it didn't play in theaters for very long.
The film starts out with a close up of Rebecca (Natalie Portman) crying. The scene of her crying lasts for about seven minutes and it is quite powerful. We later on find out a bit about her. Rebecca is not accepted as a Jew in Israel because her father is Jewish but not her mother. She is married (or is with) to a Jewish man but his mother (Carmen Maura) does not approve of her. They are all in Hanna's (Hana Laszlo) cab but when they reach their destination Rebecca stays in Hanna's cab. By the way, Hanna is an observant Jew.
Hanna tries to dissuade Rebecca from coming with her but Rebecca insists on staying. Hanna has to go to the "free zone" (which is near Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq) in order to pick up a large sum of money that her husband is owed. He has been seriously injured and cannot pick up the money. Along the way they meet up with Leila (Haim Abbass) who is a Palestinian. She tells them that the man Hanna needs to see is gone. But Hanna insists that Leila take her to see him so that she can collect the money that she and her husband are owed. All three women are wonderful in their roles. Laszlo won a much deserved best actress award at Cannes.
There is more to this film and it certainly packs in a lot in just 90 minutes. The basic theme has to do with the middle east conflict. Gitai doesn't take sides because he knows that this issue is not black and white. It is very grey. We see just how wrong both sides can be. Originally Gitai was going to have three men play the leads but he eventually opted for women. Perhaps it is because men are the ones who make the wars. In this film we see Hanna and Leila arguing but they are doing it with their voices and not with guns or other weapons. Ah, if only we would learn how to talk to each other. There is a lot more to say but because of time limits I will have to refrain.
Playing throughout the film is a haunting song entitled Chad Gadya by Chava Alberstein. The song tells us how one action causes another and things we do to others have repercussions from generation to generation. Above all, Free Zone is a call to peace. And I do hope that now that this powerful film is on DVD people will get to see it and heed its message.
The film starts out with a close up of Rebecca (Natalie Portman) crying. The scene of her crying lasts for about seven minutes and it is quite powerful. We later on find out a bit about her. Rebecca is not accepted as a Jew in Israel because her father is Jewish but not her mother. She is married (or is with) to a Jewish man but his mother (Carmen Maura) does not approve of her. They are all in Hanna's (Hana Laszlo) cab but when they reach their destination Rebecca stays in Hanna's cab. By the way, Hanna is an observant Jew.
Hanna tries to dissuade Rebecca from coming with her but Rebecca insists on staying. Hanna has to go to the "free zone" (which is near Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq) in order to pick up a large sum of money that her husband is owed. He has been seriously injured and cannot pick up the money. Along the way they meet up with Leila (Haim Abbass) who is a Palestinian. She tells them that the man Hanna needs to see is gone. But Hanna insists that Leila take her to see him so that she can collect the money that she and her husband are owed. All three women are wonderful in their roles. Laszlo won a much deserved best actress award at Cannes.
There is more to this film and it certainly packs in a lot in just 90 minutes. The basic theme has to do with the middle east conflict. Gitai doesn't take sides because he knows that this issue is not black and white. It is very grey. We see just how wrong both sides can be. Originally Gitai was going to have three men play the leads but he eventually opted for women. Perhaps it is because men are the ones who make the wars. In this film we see Hanna and Leila arguing but they are doing it with their voices and not with guns or other weapons. Ah, if only we would learn how to talk to each other. There is a lot more to say but because of time limits I will have to refrain.
Playing throughout the film is a haunting song entitled Chad Gadya by Chava Alberstein. The song tells us how one action causes another and things we do to others have repercussions from generation to generation. Above all, Free Zone is a call to peace. And I do hope that now that this powerful film is on DVD people will get to see it and heed its message.
posted by Film Fanatic | 7:37 PM
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