Farha

The tale of Farha is not only a tale of the destruction of Palestinian life caused by the Nakba. It is a sensitive and beautiful portrait of traditional village life and the dreams of a young girl who desires an education beyond that provided to girls by the village Sheikh as well as a destiny beyond marriage. No one should miss this portrait of Palestine in 1948.

Although the film begins at a time of turmoil, the traditional harvest by the women of the village is shown while Farha reads a book. Her father, as mayor, is asked to join the fighters but hesitates. A traditional betrothal is shown, and the viewer becomes aware of Farha's indifference to a marriage arrangement and her own ambition to study at a school in the city. It is against this backdrop that the violence and destruction of the Nakba begins to unfold.

The inclusion of traditional harvest and betrothal songs are beautiful details and offer a counterpoint to the horror of the events of 1948.

I am Jewish. I want to make this abundantly clear in my review. I am the Am Yisrael. I am supposed to hate this.

But I cannot. This is an extremely difficult to watch movie. It's psychologically torturous. It is, genuinely, the hardest watch since I saw Stalker or Solaris, and people who watch Russian sci-fi know the extent of it.

This communicated the message better than anything ever before. I feel like had I watched it as a Zionist, it would bring me to the point I am at right now regardless.

The raw power, the naked truthfulness of the movie makes it an extremely valuable experience and motivates the watcher to take action against the Israeli oppression. I am deeply ashamed that my holy land is being claimed by an apartheid state.

... when your hands could reach the sky, when a future had been opened and your dreams had been awoken, with a chance to learn and teach, explore, investigate and seek, helping barriers erode, helping others to decode; but instead of unlocked doors, you're imprisoned by a war, observe the crimes of an invasion, through portals locked without salvation, inhumanity to man, to children, to families, by man, against the innocent civilians, who still suffer in their millions.

An outstanding performance by Karam Taher brings to life the torment, torture and tyranny endured during times of upheaval post WWII.

Watched this with my teen children. We all loved it despite it being slow in the middle. A must-see to help understand history. Wonderful to have movies depicting Palestine to portray a genuine side to the conflict.

Watch it with your family. It's heart-breaking but nothing too gory that a teen can't handle.

Artistically the movie was beautifully directed.

A girl's dreams that collapsed all in one day because of occupying forces against a nation of defenseless villagers.

Loved the details of the costumes and the songs.

Loved the dialects in Arabic.

I wish they had translated her lullaby accurately. Instead it was translated as an American classic lullaby.

The best part is that it's a true story.

The truth of Palestine history needs to be portrayed more and the people deserve justice.

Decided to finally watch this, didn't regret it one bit. If you're expecting a political film, this is not it. This was a raw and emotional account of how a young Palestinian girl lost everything near and dear to her and how her aspirations of becoming a teacher and opening a girls school in her village were destroyed due to the events of the Nakba.

It was filmed very well with brilliant cinematography and amazing sound design. The primary protagonist was great and the overall acting was very convincing.

Definitely worth a watch!

Be aware that this film has some tear jerking moments, it is the unfortunate reality of what occured in Palestine.