thenationofartists.com

First printed at www.movingpicturesnetwork.com

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(from the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival)

Directed by: Shlomi Eldar
Starring: Ra’ida and Faozi Abu Mustaffa and baby Muhammad; Shlomi Eldar; and Raz Somech, M.D.

Shlomi Eldar made his mark as a reporter on the television beat in Gaza, a place he calls a “dream” for any war correspondent. Following the election of terrorist organization Hamas to its leadership, Eldar’s zigzagging across the border is no longer feasible, and he turns up for journalistic duties at the Tel Hashomer Hospital in its stead.

The hospital marks the only bridge from Israel to Gaza, providing a place for the treatment of the sick at a time when only those on the critical list are able to travel for treatment.

Finding a cause behind which to throw his media weight, Eldar puts out an on-air call to raise $55,000 in funds for a “bubble” baby without an immune system who needs a bone marrow transplant to survive outside his hospital room. The baby’s mother had appealed to Palestinian authorities for support for the procedure and had been refused.

With Eldar’s segment a success, finding a single anonymous donor with more reasons not to support the baby’s family than to generously step up to the plate, the search goes out to family members for a bone marrow match. The family’s surprise is evident that a relative is allowed to cross the border into Israel with the blood vials of a dozen family members. And their relief to be in a country with new cars, and grass, is interesting.

Still, despite the generosity of spirit and resources they find in Israel, the family is torn internally by the fear and distrust of Jews ingrained in their psyche since birth. Their inner conflict is inherent in the sentiment, “The Israelis do strange things for us.”

A community often neglected by their Arab brothers and sisters in the surrounding states, the Palestinians fend for themselves in cramped quarters, with fundamentalists as the ruling party, blockaded from much external support. Their children, Eldar regards, speak as if they’re old people waiting to die, a sentiment echoed by Muhammad’s mother, who announces she’d happily sacrifice her son as a suicide bomber for Palestinian ownership of Jerusalem.

Advances in Muhammad’s treatment are momentarily halted after Palestinians launch Qassam rockets into Israeli territory and the border crossing is rocked by a powerful car bomb. With security compromised, the checkpoint to cross is temporarily closed.

With political and religious suspicions being raised at home as a result of the special privileges being bestowed on Ra’ida and Faozi, the husband returns home.

Sadly, according to Ra’ida, to the Palestinians, “Life isn’t worth a thing. That’s why we have suicide bombers. … None of us fear death.” An active participant in the documentary, Eldar can’t resist sparring with his subject politically and provocatively. Whether, at the end of the personal and medical treatment they receive, life becomes as precious for these particular Palestinians, you’ll just have to watch to find out.

As a piece of filmmaking, the documentary has no deft illustration or animation, offers no context to the number of similar cases being handled nor any context to the political swings and roundabout experiences by either political systems. Neither Palestinians nor Israelis are quizzed for a reaction to the issue at hand. However, as a personal story, a documentary about a fundamentalist family finding their strength to accept help from an adversary who aids them as well as challenges their preconceived notions, the film is a stirring success on all levels.

The true moral hero of the film is Dr. Raz Somech, who continues to reach out across racial and religious lines in the hope of a better future for all in the region. Of baby Muhammad, Somech expresses, “If he doesn’t play with my son, then his son will. … One day, they will.”