O Jerusalem

The subject of this film is difficult, a friendship and a war that comes in between friends. I would have given it a 9 but the propaganda in the film brings it down big time. This is not a historical film but it appears that some key dates have been followed.

Why do I call it a propaganda film? Because, it shows good and bad on both sides but actually it subtly forces the viewer to sympathise with one side. This is the art of propaganda. Also called brainwashing which keeps happening again and again. It feels that we will see many more propaganda films in the future. Also, the Brits got the wrong end of the stick, which is almost funny.

The two main characters, Bobby and Said are very likable as they appear as very genuine blokes. Their friendship is a real pleasure to watch, shame it was used to cover up the real agenda.

O Jerusalem is certainly a good step in the right direction. It does not claim to be a historically pin-point accurate epic, but it does cover most of the salient events of that period in history.

I have personally known Abdelqader Al-Husseini, and Major – later Colonel – Abdallah Al-Tal. The first was the son of one of the top aristocratic families in Jerusalem, and the second hails from a large tribe in the area of Irbid in what is known today as Jordan. As the film shows, Husseini was let down by the Arab League and was killed in action during the Qastal operation. That corresponds to the facts. When Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre wrote their book bearing the same name as the film, they interviewed Husseini's sons. One of whom was Faysal Husseini of Orient House fame, and who died of a heart attack a few years ago.

Major Tal's intervention during the fighting in Jerusalem was not sanctioned by the British Chief of Staff of the Arab Legion (i.e. the Jordanian Army), General Glubb Pasha, and only hesitantly if at all by King Abdullah. The latter was already pursuing secret negotiations with Golda Meir and Moshe Sharett about getting a piece of Palestine for himself (An act of high treason at that time, at least as far as the Palestinians were concerned). Major Tal's personal military initiative in Jerusalem secured the eastern part of the city for King Abdullah, but also for the Palestinians, until the 1967 Six Day war. But Abdullah became jealous because of Al-Tal's popularity and accused him of trying to seize power in Jordan in order to annex it to Syria (pretty disingenuous!) Al-Tal spent the next twenty years or so as a political refugee in Egypt. To check what Major Tal said during the encounter between him and the Haganah leaders (Moshe Dayan), interested individuals can read Dayan's and Al-Tal's memoirs (probably translated from Arabic by the IDF, and/or possibly by one of the Pentagon many agencies.

The film perpetuates a line that has been discredited by historians on all sides, namely purporting that the "Arab governments asked the Palestinians to abandon their homes and leave their country so that the Arab armies could fight the "Jews" with ease". Nobody did call, and nobody would have responded to such a call. But Egypt and Jordan took every possible measure to prevent the Palestinians from acquiring weapons, and non-Palestinian volunteers were not encouraged to participate in the fighting.

What is never clarified about the Palestinian-Israeli question, including by the Palestinians themselves, is that they did not rise against the Jewish Arab community that had lived among them for millenia, not even the few Europeans who had settled there during the Ottoman Empire. When, in the latter part of the 1920s and on, a new breed of mainly Eastern European Jewish immigrants escaping the horrors in Europe had started arriving into the country essentially with British help, and with the intent of creating a Jewish-only state; the only way for them to achieve that of course was by force. Nobody can fault anyone for resorting to force to oppose that predicament.

I saw the DVD only yesterday in French, though it was obvious that the actors were speaking English, and the French was dubbed over it. I am looking for an English version if such exists. As for the change of title from "Beyond Friendship", which was probably going to appear in English, it is quite possible, though I cannot swear to it, that pressure was put on the distributors to avoid marketing the film in the USA. But then many of the actors are French.

Some of the text titles translated into Arabic, and the name of a street or two in Jerusalem were not accurately translated or properly spelled in the film.

Elie Chouraqui may be related to the famous André Chouraqui, who translated the Qoran into French, i.e. they should have a good understanding of the Arabic language and culture.

All in all, the film could be a good discussion topic for both sides, to give events their proper names and historic dimensions in search for mutual accommodation. That is of course if they are willing and able to undertake this necessary exercise for the sake of their sanity, the future of their children and world peace. Otherwise they have no other choice! If you prefer, you may comment on my review in French.

I first saw the trailer for this film some five or six years ago and then never heard of it again, which was a shame because I was really looking forward to seeing it on a big screen, shame then that it all but vanished and hasn't to the best of my knowledge ever had a proper release on UK shores. (I imported the DVD)

Though as quoted by others, this is based on the book of the same name, it only draws on the factual detail and uses the more human stories for its focus which for a drama dealing with an issue as complex and as controversial as the formation of the state of Israel is essential. Set against the backdrop of the events of 1946 in Palestine and the violence that followed, two friends who meet in America, one Arab and one Jewish find themselves on opposing sides of a conflict that is beyond their own making. Both of them realising that violence is not the solution do their best to stay out of it, but ultimately find this unavoidable.

The film focuses on their attempts to understand and deal with the historical events that they face, of which they little control over but have no choice but to get involved in.

The film has its strong points. The historical attention to period detail is very well done, the budget for this production is NOT low, as another reviewer has stated (factually inaccurate) nor does it look so. The blend of actual news footage from the time slips seamlessly with the way the film has been shot and invokes a feeling of genuine history. Points of history are sign posted with titles and everything is told neatly in chronological order.

Where the film is weaker however is the script. The friendship of the two friends feels rushed and unlikely, the acting is variable, some scenes are handled well while others feel the need to rush straight into melodrama without any real emotional investment to get there. On that level it feels more like a drama documentary where a mini-series would probably have served it better. Our main characters seem to just flow along with the story as the historical events unfold, rather than really being fully involved in them, maybe that's the point, but the strength of their emotional journey gets lost. The death of several supporting characters never seems to have the impact that it should and its hard to pin down the exact reason for this, but the scene at the end falls especially flat when it should have had me in tears.

Those criticisms aside this doesn't mean the film makes for uninteresting viewing. I have no personal affiliation to any side of this conflict, and the film seemed initially to strive to give both sides an equal voice, (Possibly Israel gets more screen time but their own atrocities in the conflict are not overlooked) certainly at first I didn't feel a bias one way or another, but after the first half it felt the Jewish characters became more and more noble where as the Arabs became more and more one dimensional but this just makes me want to do my own research on the subject, but does it make for a good movie?

The high production values, good acting despite struggling with a fairly orderly historical script, attention to detail and nice photography all make the film well above average. Nice turns from supporting cast such as Tom Conti, the under rated Rene Zagger and the ever strong Ian Holm give the leading cast great back up and Saïd Taghmaoui is always very watchable but their talents do make some of the weaker players stand out a little.

A film on this topic is going to stir emotions on anyone who might have an affiliation with one side or another, so maybe its more important what those who have little understanding of the origins of this seemingly never ending conflict gain some understanding of how it started and as a starting point for that education, you can certainly do far far worse than this. As a well made historical epic its not a bad film at all.

Unfortunately where the film is less convincing is in the conflict between the friendship of the two leads, I found it unrealistic and somewhat unbelievable and didn't quite create the dichotomy I had hoped for but simply watching the events of history unfold still made for captivating viewing.

This is a conflict I would love to see finally resolved in my life time for the sake of the generations that will follow in the footsteps of their relatives who were involved in these events. Dismissing the film so easily is simply not a tenable opinion.

There aren't enough films on this subject to make this one irrelevant and the simple truth is that no film on this topic will ever be completely successful, just as the search for an answer to finally allow all those involved to live side by side in harmony will go on for some time yet. If you have even the vaguest interest in the subject and can watch it from a neutral stand point, I would recommend it.

"O Jerusalem" displays emotion, a whirlwind romance, intrigue, battles and historical events. It is based on historical accounts from the best-selling novel "O Jerusalem," written by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, that meticulously re-creates the historic struggle surrounding the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. By the late 1945, millions of bewildered and homeless Jews people were on the move-across Europe and the Far East. They were looking for somewhere to live and for many of them that meant a new country. Jews demanded a land of their own. Jewish refugees were at a British camp on their way to Palestine. On many of the refugees, by a famine-strike, the conditions were appalling , overcrowded, lacking food and water. The British troops (commanded by Ralph Richardson and Peter Lawford) guard the shipload of Jews in the port, they were rounded up, to be sent to the camp. This is an exodus that succeeded. In Palestine coming so soon after the holocaust, the homeless come home, but these traumatic echoes of Auschwitz and Buchenwald inflamed Zionist feelings.1946,1947 and early 1948 were a years in which Zionist terrorist was at its height and Independent Israel still seemed heartbreaks away. At the center of these events are three friends, Bobby (JJ Feild), Jacob (Mel Raido), and one of them is Arab, Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui), alongside their girlfriends (María Papas, Cécile Cassel, Shirel). Their involvement takes them from the streets of New York to The Holy Land, where they risk their lives making incredible sacrifices along the way to fight for what they believe in, as the city of their dreams teeters on the brink of destruction. The subsequent setting is the strife-ridden area of Palestine between Jewish and Arabs fighting cruelly each other. The state of Israel was born in war and spent its youth struggling for survival. The nearly established United Nations did what it could to help, establishing camps for refugees and the supervision of Great Britain over Palestine . And later a voting that declared the independence of Israel under Ben Gurion (Ian Holm) and after Golda Meier (Tovah Feldshuh)

This moving film deals with a stirring story of friendship as the country of Israel is being created. The picture is told from the alternating viewpoints of the Jews, Arabs and Brits, all of whom collide in their fight for the control of Jerusalem. Throughout the movie brings to the forefront issues of courage, terrorism, rebellion, deprivation, politics and a strong sense of morality. Offering a rich background to an explosivevely long conflict and showing character studio of the main protagonists. Élie Chouraqui directs this historical drama with a political thriller background, which tells the story of the birth of the state of Israel, with historical events such as the bombing of the King David Hotel (In 22 July 1946, ninety-one people died when the Hotel in Jerusalem was blown up by Zionists), the struggles to occupy the roads leading to the center of the country and finally the battle in the heart of Jerusalem. Giving a detailed description of the socialist Zionism, the main leaders as Ben Gurion/Ian Holm and Golda Meier/Tovah Feldshuh , as well as the Irgun, it was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated during the British Mandate of Palestine, between 1931 and 1948. It was established as a militant branch of the Haganah ("The Defense"). The Irgun has been considered a terrorist organization. The Irgun was the predecessor of the nationalist political party Herut ("Freedom"), which gave rise to the current Likud party.

Based on historical events, at the beginning Palestine was a quiet province of the Ottoman Empire, where there was a Jewish community. At the end of the 19th century, the trickle of Jews began due to the diaspora, all of them travelling to Palestine determined to build their country in the Promised Land and under the Balfour Declaration. After the end of the First World War and the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles, control of Palestine was granted under a Mandate to Great Britain, and the trickle of Israeli immigrants became a flood, and by 1936, at the beginning of the Arab revolt, there were already more than half a million Jews in Palestine. This is the volatile context in which this story moves, which also functions as a portrait of why and how the current conflicts in the Middle East began. And adding specific historical references on screen, such as: On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was founded. Then an Arab invasion took place, with the subsequent Jewish resistance.

Stephen Endelman' musical score is atmospheric and evocative. As well as adequate and colorful cinematography by cameraman Giovanni Fiore. Shot on location in Rhodes, Greece, Italy, Israel, Castle Street, and Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK. This interesting and thorny film was unevenly but professionally directed by Elie Chouraqui. He is a director and writer, known for The Origin of Violence (2016), O Jerusalem (2006), Harrison's Flowers (2000), Qu'est-ce qui fait courir David? (1982) , Man on Fire(1987) and Les menteurs (1996). The picture will appeal to history buffs and strong emotions enthusiasts. Rating: 6/10 . Well worth watching.

I thought I am not a good candidate to write a review about the movie (Being a Jew who was born in Israel) - Until I saw the other review here and I was shocked and sadden.

There are many "views" of what really happened in 1948. Each side holds its own view to events, as Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" wisely tells us about the subjectivity of truth and the uncertainty of factual accuracy.

The independence war is part of Israel's collective memory as it is to the Arab side. Of course anything that I will write will be influenced with that filtration - as well as the previous reviewer and possibly the reviewers to follow. We all "own" our subjective truth.

So Instead of replying to the previous reviewer with "my facts" to the events that took place in 1948 in order to contradict his claims, I will halt here and urge you to not to give up upon your believes but to hold them back and see the movie. You will not regret it.

Yes, I know the movie will not be enjoyable to or appreciated by everyone. If you are an Arab or Jew extremist you will probably leave the cinema in the middle of the movie - If you wish to see a one-sided, "the truth is here" movie I suggest you see a Michael Moore movie.

But if you wish to see a movie with a brilliant script that tries to touch the human triumph and tragedies of the 1948 war with a superb cast that will make you shed a tear – this movie for you.