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Holy Land: A Year in the West Bank (2014) Online

Holy Land: A Year in the West Bank (2014) Online
Original Title :
Holy Land: A Year in the West Bank
Genre :
Movie / Documentary / Drama / News / War
Year :
2014
Directror :
Peter Cohn
Cast :
Menachem Froman,Aron Kastof,Hagit Ofran
Writer :
Peter Cohn
Budget :
$450,000
Type :
Movie
Time :
1h 10min
Rating :
6.7/10
Holy Land: A Year in the West Bank (2014) Online

On a desolate West Bank hilltop, 50 Israeli families live in house trailers, yards littered with rusting tricycles and old furniture. This is Migron, the largest illegal settlement outpost, built in defiance of international law and the Israeli courts. From 2011 through 2012, a battle about the fate of Migron rages through Israel's politics and Supreme Court. Israeli anti-settlement activist Hagit Ofran leads the struggle against Migron. She is an underdog -- her group, Peace Now, is a shadow of what it once was. Powerful forces are arrayed against her. Thus unfolds the story of "Holy Land," an unprecedented, multi-character documentary about a tumultuous year in the West Bank. Director/producer Peter Cohn comes to the story with an outsider's unaffiliated perspective, gaining intimate access to the lives of key players on both sides. They include an Orthodox Israeli settler, a young Palestinian journalist, the progressive mayor of a Palestinian town and the Rabbi Menachem Froman, ...
Credited cast:
Menachem Froman Menachem Froman - Himself - Rabbi, Settler, Peace Advocate (as Rabbi Menachem Froman)
Aron Kastof Aron Kastof - Himself - Settler, Esh Kodesh
Hagit Ofran Hagit Ofran - Herself - Settlement Monitor, Peace Now
Nasri Sabarna Nasri Sabarna - Himself - Mayor, Bet Ommar
Mohammad Tamimi Mohammad Tamimi - Himself - Journalist, Nabi Saleh


User reviews

Quashant

Quashant

I watched it because it said it was "nonpartisan". but it was very anti Israeli and portrayed Israeli soldiers as very aggressive to the Arabs in the area. Waste of time to watch!
Rayli

Rayli

I want to congratulate Mr Cohn first of all on making an exceptionally even-handed film. His style is purely observational, except for a few maps and info cards at the beginning. He succeeded in recording a diverse and interesting range of subjects. I would call the film a must-see for anyone interesting in the conflict. I would rate it alongside Louis Theroux's documentary on the same topic.

I have one reservation however. I think that unconsciously by his selection of the settler subjects (or the selection who consented to being filmed) the film presents an ever so slightly biased picture of the settlements. It is an issue of omission rather than commission. I think that by letting the settlers speak for themselves, and focussing on outposts rather than major settlements, the film failed to depict the official settlement programme, which has been pursued by the Israeli government, as an instrument of conquest and control. The main settlements have been placed to control aquifers, farmland and the approaches to Jerusalem. The film thus misses this wider viewpoint on the settlement project as a whole. This gap could probably be remedied by including an interview with somebody like Jeff Halper, a student and activist on the 'matrix of control'.

I want to thank Mr Cohn for his work, and I am sure he will take my suggestion in a spirit of constructive criticism.