Miral

It is a true story:based on journalist's Rula Jebreal's autobiographic novel;Rula depicts her childhood and her adolescence in Jerusalem East as Miral ,an imam and a manic-depressive mother's daughter.Miral was brought up by Hind Al Hussein ,a Palestinian woman who took in a group of children victims of an Israeli attack and who founded a boarding-school for Palestinian children.

Miral turns seventeen: she is torn between her people's cause , its defense (do they have to resort to force?)and Hind's ideas :the only way is education ,understanding.These red flowers along the roads epitomize blood which has flowed.When there are too many deaths and too many wars,they do not heed to them anymore ,they do not pay attention more than they do to those "Mirals"

"Miral" reopens the debate,a pacifist one about a conflict which has received too much media exposure:none of the two people has any future if he denies his neighbor's well-being and dignity ;if this movie gets a message across ,it's this one .This epic takes place between the birth of the state of Israel (1948) and the Oslo agreement (1994).

With three exceptions (Vanessa Redgrave ,who was famous for her pro-Palestinian stand , Willem Dafoeand to a lesser degree Freida Pinto )the actors are unknown to the European audience.

Run, don't walk, to see this movie. If you miss it while it is in the theaters, put it in your Netflix queue. My wife and I see a lot of movies, independent and mainstream and this is one of the best.

Yesterday we saw a mainstream movie, Hanna, which was a major disappointment, except for the excellent acting of Saoirse Ronan. I gave it a 5 because the story was so terrible and I didn't have any emotional involvement concerning what happened to Hanna.

We generally don't go to two movies, two days in a row, but I was so disappointed in Hanna and have been interested in possibly seeing Miral since I heard Rula Jebreal on NPR's Tell Me More. She wrote the novel and the screenplay the movie was based on. I was surprised that she received such a chilly reception on the show, so I remembered to check out the movie online.

On METACRITIC, which contains reviews by major critics, there were 17 reviews; 3 positive, 12 mixed and 2 negative. Overall it was given a 45 out of 100 which means generally mixed reviews and near the low end of that scale. Keep in mind that Hanna got a 64 which means generally favorable reviews. I read a number of the critic's reviews of Miral as I often do before seeing a movie

I also read all of the six reviews available at that time on IMDb. There were only five usable as one was written by a person who, in my opinion, had an agenda and, based on his review, had not seen the movie.

Having consulted METACRITIC and IMDb, I was convinced that my wife and I might like this movie, but would probably not rate it above a 6 or 7 out of ten after we saw it. I always keep in mind that there are movies with overwhelming favorable reviews that I have hated, including The Diving Bell and The Butterfly which had the same director, Julian Schnabel, as this movie. Lost in Translation is also in that category.

My wife and I came to this movie without prejudice for one side or the other. We were just looking for a well made movie that would entertain us. We were so pleasantly surprised. The acting was excellent, the story involving, and we were quite tense in the last third of the movie. Unlike Hanna, we really cared what happen to Miral.

I agree with Spencergo, this movie should be seen by a wider audience, but I know it won't. The reason that this review is so important to me is most people will skip this movie because of the mixed reviews, and they shouldn't. Unfortunately, many independent films, like Rabbit Hole last year, get missed. I sincerely hope you give this movie a try if you can find it at your local independent theater.

It is refreshing to visit the Israeli/Palestinian conflict form a vantage too seldom shared in cinema. Director Julian Schnabel once again proves that he understands human responses in the face of political conflict. Rula Jebreal has adapted her own novel which in turn is a biography of her involvement in the history of the Palestinian conflict. It is a touching recounting of the events that took place form 1947 to the present and it leaves the window open for much conversation.

The film opens with a party held by Bertha Spafford (Vanessa Redgrave) in 1947 when she asks her guest to forget the conflict outside for a celebration of Christmas: the party is attended by both her Jewish and Arabic friends, the centerpiece being the Christmas tree brought yearly by the Husseini family and then replanted to restore the earth. Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass) is there and meets Eddie (Willem Dafoe), an American friend of Bertha. A year latter in 1948 there is an Arab-Israeli War, the Deir Yassin Massacre, and the establishment of the state of Israel. The wealthy Hind Husseini encounters 55 starving children, victims of the war, and take s them home to establish what will become the Dar Al-Tifel Institute, a school for Arab orphans that within months grew to a population of 2000. The film then jumps forward and we meet Nadia (Yasmine Al Massri), an abused alcoholic who is imprisoned and there meets devout Muslim Jamal (Alexander Siddig) who later becomes her husband: Nadia, unable to change her life, drowns herself when their child is only 7 years old. It is now 1978 and Jamal brings his daughter Miral (Yolanda El Karam) to the keeping of Hind, reassuring her that he will see her on weekends. Time passes to 1988 and the older Miral (Freida Pinto) is victim to the intifada (uprising), is sent to a refugee camp where she falls in love with the PLO leader Hani (Omar Metwally) and commits to the Palestinian movement to secure a land of peace called Palestine that will be free of the Israeli governance and jurisdiction. Hind encourages Miral to follow her heart and convictions: it is the development of change represented by Hind, Nada, and Miral that personalizes this compelling epic. Though the conflict between Palestine and Israel continues to this day, this film allows us to appreciate the Palestinian response to the loss of their land and home by a international ruling to create the state of Israel.

Cinematographer Eric Gautier mixes the hot sun washed Palestine footage of the real intifada and the result is mesmerizing. The real star of this film is Hiam Abbass who as the gradually aging Hind Husseini brings the story to life. The large cast is excellent with special kudos to Alexander Siddig, Omar Metwally, and Freida Pinto: the presence of Vanessa Redgrave and Willem Dafoe add credibility tot he proceedings but their roles are minimal. Julian Schnabel is to be congratulated for bringing to light the 'other side' of the Arab/Israeli conflict. He gives us excellent food for thought.

Grady Harp

This is a film by Julian Schnabel who directed the diving bell and the butterfly and for anyone who's saw that,you know how good it is so i had big expectations.It has small parts from Vanessa Redgrave(a Palestinian freedom activist in reality),William Dafoe(his roster of films that he's involved in is incredible,big respect for him)and then the only other face you'll know is Alexander Siddig as Miral's father if you ever watched star trek voyager.Hiam Abbass who plays Hind Hussaini i recognize from a great Israeli film i saw called lemon tree about the conflict as well. The film is based on a true story from a autobiographical book by Rula Jubreal and centered around the Palestine/Israel conflict between 1948 when Israel is created,the six day war period in 1967 and then the agreement between Israel and PLO in 1994. A big part of the story is focused on the girls school for Palestinian orphans(which still exists today)which was opened by Hind Hussain in the 40s after taking in orphaned kids after a bombing raid by Israeli's,and it is where Miral(played by Frieda Pinto),the main focus of the story ends up after a troubled childhood that leads her father to bring her there.It then takes us through into her teens when she starts to have indecisive thoughts on whether to take to violent route or peaceful route after being introduced to this by a PLO fighter and falling in love with him.She then gets introduced to Israelis when she moves in with her auntie who's son is going out with a Israeli and begins to realize that they are not all out to wipe out Palestinians. Throughout this film you are given good insight into both sides of the coin and what the director has achieved,for me,is a very balanced view and does not try to make it all roses in his method of showing cross community (the scene where her cousin introduces his Israeli girlfriend to his mother is not comfortable,likewise when Miral is introduced to the Israeli girls father).It's a very mature take on the conflict and gets the message across that dialog and a two state solution is the only answer at this time.Tie in with this,great camera-work,great settings,informative historical snapshots from the past,great acting all round and expertly crafted filming that show harrowing scenes but still keeping it a 12a,you have a really important film. This is great to see from a US director and i hope it reaches a big audience(a lot of it is in English)for as much coverage this conflict gets,it's often biased in one manner or another.Another great achievement for Julian Schnabel.

First I must say that before seeing this film I had not read the book it was based on so I have to assume that the film follows the book. As the writer of the book also participated in the scripting of the film, one would think that this film is a collaboration between the author of the book and the director Julian Schnabel. This being said, I have tried to review this film without prejudice.

When the film ended my first thoughts were that this film would cause a stir as it is directed by a Jew and yet the subject matter of the film shows the Jewish State of Israel in a negative light. My concerns were not as much for the film itself, as it is a well made film, but for the attitude that the Jewish population would have towards the film. In my own experience, as someone who has been directly involved with distribution of film, whenever there is a group that has a negative response the distribution can go one of two ways; the first being limited distribution as some will not support showing the film in their theaters, and the second being a tremendous response to good cinema where theaters will take the risk and book the film at a national level. "Miral" a film that should have widespread distribution, because of what the Jewish population will do in response to the anti Israel theme, this film will be reduced to Art House distribution.

"Miral" deals with a Palestinian community in turmoil due to change. That change was the effect that the new Statehood of Israel caused. As with any new regimes change is mandatory and an often misunderstood process and the story of "Miral" reflects that process.

The film boasts a well woven story, competent acting, and a visceral message. This is a relevant film and well worth seeing. It is multiple-layered and a multiple-leveled film. It would be a shame if the Jewish Community misreads the intention of the film. Films like this do not come around often and avoiding it out of ignorance would be a mistake.

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