The Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden is a lovely collection of vignettes about the regulars who frequent the so-called Garden of Eden at Sakhne, a lovely spring-fed lake in Israel.  The stories are mostly poignant stories of loss: the rueful divorced man who swims every day to fill the lonely hours between work and bedtime; the wistful Arab with a wife he 'gets along with OK'who gave up too easily on his relationship with the love of his life, a Jewish girl; the ticket-taker who wonders why she took 33 years to leave her abusive husband; the man who still struggles with guilt that he survived a war that killed his brother and best friend.

A charming movie.  I had the good fortune to meet interesting people in line, one of whom had lived near Sakhne and had been there.  He said it was a lovely as it looked in the film.  Now I want to go there too.

Before the Revolution

The Israelis are showing the film Raid on Entebbe on the outside wall of their embassy in Tehran, and Iranians are watching from the rooftops and balconies, weeping at the death of an Israeli commando and three Israeli hostages and cheering at the ultimate defeat of the Arab hijackers.  Really?  Iranians cheering Israelis?  The movie opens with this story told by a former security guard at the Israeli embassy.  Startling to say the least.

Before the Revolution told a story I'd never heard before, of the close relationship between Iran and Israel during the Shah's reign.  Israel sought a friendship with a neighbour in a region where they felt they could use all the friends they could get.  Iran provided Israel with oil and Israel 'provided Iran with everything else', but especially weapons and infrastructure.

The Israeli community included a variety of people.  Mossad officers who had helped guide the creation of the Iranian secret police and intelligence service were there to co-ordinate intelligence and to hobnob with Iran's powerful generals.  The rest were mostly there to build Iranian infrastructure, to live a highly privileged life in Tehran and to salt away money for their return to Israel.

Director Dan Shadur grew up in Tehran and weaves in family videos and reminiscences to give us a picture of the charmed life of Israelis in Iran, until they ignominiously fled after the return of Khomeni.  As one man put it, it really rankled to have to accept American help for that escape.

Before the Revolution once again underlined the risks of consorting with despots.  You may regret the hands those weapons fall into!

This was another good movie.  Well worth seeing.

Susya and The Hilltops

These two movies were on a double bill at Hot Docs and put forward two views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

The Hilltops interviewed a number of people living in the infamous Israeli settlements, on the hill tops in Gaza.  With zealous commitment, the settlers argue for Israel's right to own this land and are fierce in their determination to stay in the settlements.  We see a crew of men with tools erecting the frame of a new home, until the arrival of the Israeli Defence Forces, who tear down the walls and arrest all the men.  Soon after, the women return, and raise the walls, and hammering the nails in place with rocks.  

The Canadian director said that he had been criticized for not sufficiently demonizing the settlers, but his intent was to let them speak for themselves and let the audience come to their own conclusion.  It's harder to be engrossed in a film that has no particular narrative thrust.  Although interesting, I didn't find it particularly captivating.

Susya was a short 15 minute film that should have been shorter!  A Palestinian father and son return to their home village which is now an Israeli archaeological site.  Israeli police appear, and tell them they're not allowed, despite their having bought tickets.  The shot of the father walking down the road, with the Israeli military vehicle following him menacingly, ran way too long for my taste.

Budrus

Budrus is a Palestinian village of 1,500 on the West Bank. The Israelis arrive to to build the security fence - well beyond the 'Green Line' marking the boundary between Israel and the Palestinian territory on the West Bank. This will result in the residents of Budrus losing land and olive groves they depend on for their livelihood.

A leader in the village inspires non-violent resistance. At first the protests involve only the men of the village, but they are soon joined by the women. As word of the protests spreads, some international sympathizers join the protesters. But the tide really turns when Israeli activists arrive to stand side by side with the Palestinians. The Israeli Border Patrol is reluctant to do anything that would result in Israelis being hurt, and many cameras documenting the action serve to keep the army's actions moderated. Frustrated youth finally break ranks and start throwing rocks at the Israeli armored vehicles. But the threat of chaos breaking out is averted and the protest continues mostly peacefully.

Ultimately, the Israelis decide to move the placement of the fence near Budrus. By the, the protests have spread to other villages where the fence has swung substantially within Palestinian territory, and the fence ultimately gets built very close to the Green Line. The Israelis state the change is not due to the protests. As the Billy Joel lyrics to She's Only a Woman go - "she never gives in, she just changes her mind."

The film was created from the film taken by many different people over the course of the protests and was supported by the work of Just Vision (click here for their web site). For those sensitive to hand-held cameras, be warned that some portions of the film are subject to considerable motion.

I would recommend Budrus to anyone who has a chance to see it. It's a heart-warming tale of how non-violence can be effective, and how supposedly antagonistic people can work together in common cause.