Another Road Home

I was quite intrigued by the subject of the movie which I can relate to from my own life experience when I was in Israel in the early 1970s and befriended a Palastinian man while living in Abu Dis a suburb of Jerusalem . The strong bond between the characters Musa and Danae and her search to find his sons was very enriching and real. Danae's father also provided a stark contradiction when introduced as a leading peace advocate who was heartbroken by the outbreak of the intifala on one side and on the other side taking a typical Israeli position when his daughter suggested a meeting with Musa's sons of asking her if they were terrorists or suicide bombers. By the way that scene drew some very strong emotional outbursts from the audience which was at the United Nations. As an American Jew like Danae I felt that she was torn between the two cultures at once trying to explain to herself the schism which has emerged and grown between the two peoples. however this movie in its own way succeeds on one level to show the human spirit of its characters and their desire to know one another better ...

The irony of this wonderful film is that the filmmaker herself (Denae Elon) seems to be struggling with what exactly she wants her film to be about. Is it about the politics of the Israeli/Palestinian struggle? Is it a simple reunion of long deposed extended family? In fact it seems to be about her need to correlate the two and make sense of it as one.

The background of the story that unfolds is her relationship to a Palestinian man who essentially raised her as caretaker in Israel during her youth spanning 20 or so years. She has not seen or spoken to Mahmoud "Musa" Obeidallah since the time she moved to America. Her reunion with this lovely man, his family and sons, together with her family is poignant and sometimes heart wrenching. The politics of these two groups of people is seemingly as old as history itself but what this story demonstrates to us is that familiarity and intimacy breeds compassion and trust, more than allegiance to country or even land it rests upon.

I usually like to discuss a film in the past tense, containing spoilers and the like. To discuss a film without these details has often felt more like a bumper sticker to me than an actual review. However in this case the details are so very intimate and complex that I feel it a greater service to simply mention the film in an overall context.

One of the many elements of the film that is touched upon is the notion of "home" and what that means. What we find is that home is not really a structure or a plot of earth but a collection of memories that we carry with us. It is this relation of the human experience and this collection of those emotions that we attribute to a place that we then call home. The two often become indistinguishable. At one point in the film Danae discusses with Musa her confusion over a memory she has of Musa ironing her Israeli military uniform (service is mandatory for Israelis) She struggles with why or how Musa could have preformed this simple service given the Israeli Struggle with Palestine. His answer is more philosophical and brilliant than she knows. The answer he supplies (with a twinkle in his eye) is "Because I was working for YOU...not the military." In short she was a daughter to him no matter what she wore for clothing. This is the crux of the film and why I recommend it so very highly. For it is these ties that bind us together that will eventually conquer all that exists to tear us apart. There will surely be those who review this film purely in a political sense, judging favoritism to one side or the other. They miss the point entirely. This film isn't about who is wrong but more accurately about WHAT is right, be it Israeli or Palestinian. On that point there is no struggle or argument, there is merely a story of a woman being reunited with a surrogate father. And it is a pleasure to watch.

This is an absolutely beautiful film. When I started to watch this, I obviously knew that it was going to in the direction of searching out answers, but I didn't realize how far the journey would go and full and expansive it would turn out to be. In a world so divided where every media report and news article is full of strife, conflict, violence, terrorism and division amongst people and nations, this film is such a pleasant departure from the direction that we are constantly reminded the world is heading in. The film does look at a lot of these issues and the filmmaker does ask, in her way, a lot of these questions, but ultimately, the beauty of this piece is in it's refusal to be part of that movement and instead be part of a better world.

Can't say it enough, really beautiful film. And what a wonderful character we get to meet through her eyes and her determination.