The Little Traitor

2007
TV-PG
1h 28m

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

Nathan Ravitz in The Little Traitor (2007)

Based on the novel "Panther in the Basement" by the world-renowned author, Amos Oz, the movie takes place in Palestine in 1947, just a few months before Israel becomes a state. Proffy Liebowitz, a militant yet sensitive eleven year old wants nothing more than for the occupying British to get the hell out of his land. Proffy and his two friends spend most of their time plotting ways to terrorize and/or blow up the British until one evening, while he's out after curfew, Proffy is seized by Sergeant Dunlop, a British officer. Instead of arresting him, he deposits him back home,but what ensues in the weeks to come is a friendship between these two foes. Proffy looks to Dunlop as a father figure as his own father is cold and remote. Dunlop, lonely and poetic, loves the spirited boy and they find lots to talk about in their meetings which Proffy must keep a secret from his friends and family. When Proffy's friends follow him one day and see that he has been visiting the detested enemy, they report him to the town officials and Proffy is brought to "trial" for being a traitor. He is eventually found innocent but these experiences shape him for life;especially the shock that he could have such genuine affection for the enemy.

Play trailer1:59

2 Videos

28 Photos

Drama

A coming of age tale of the unlikely bond between a kindly British soldier and a spirited Jewish boy set against the backdrop of the birth of the State of Israel.A coming of age tale of the unlikely bond between a kindly British soldier and a spirited Jewish boy set against the backdrop of the birth of the State of Israel.A coming of age tale of the unlikely bond between a kindly British soldier and a spirited Jewish boy set against the backdrop of the birth of the State of Israel.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

1.1K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins & 2 nominations total

British officer
(as David Milton John)

Hisham Suliman

Arab Merchant #1
(as Hisham Suleiman)

Tarik Kopty

Arab Merchant #2
(as Tarek Kupty)

Amnon Wolf

British Guard

Director
- Lynn Roth
Writers
- Lynn Roth
- Amos Oz
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

‘Snow White’ Stars Test Their Wits

Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, and director Marc Webb take our Ultimate Disney Quiz.

Watch now

9:57

More like this

7.1

La dernière danse de Kirsty McLeod

7.3

6.8

7.3

6.5

7.0

5.7

6.1

The Moon and the Stars

6.3

5.7

7.7

5.5

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Ido and Rami plays father and son for the 2nd time. Their first movie together as father and son was in the movie Dear Mr. Waldman in 2006.

Goofs
The young actor who plays Proffy through most of the movie is left-handed; but at the end when they show a grown-up Proffy/Avi, he's signing books with his right hand.

Quotes
Proffy: Shalom, sergeant Dunlop.

Soundtracks
Lamidbar
Written and performed by Mike Stein

User reviews17

Featured review

8/10

Coming of age movie

--- I am not going to write much here because I think you have to watch this movie rather than read about it. It was made in an excellent manner and had first rate actors with high kudos going to Ido Port as Proffy and Alfred Molina as Dunlop.

--- Very essentially put this is a story about an 11 year old boy who carries on a friendship with a British "occupation" soldier in Israel just before it became Israel. The boy learns the hard way that sometimes your enemy can treat you better than your supposed friends and that although innocent friendship can and should be something one can treasure for life, it can also be called treason by the ignorant. I won't tell more for fear of telling to much.

--- The story is told in a very sweet way and is a well made coming of age movie. I don't think many people would be disappointed with the time investment to watch this one.