Any films that explore fact-based story lines pertaining to the ever-tense Israeli-Palestinian conflict and manage to convey both the weaknesses and the dignities of both Palestinians and Israelis without partisanship, ought not to be interesting and uplifting. "Private", the story of a privileged Palestinian family of 7 (3 boys, 2 girls and their parents) whose house is suddenly invaded and occupied by Israeli soldiers, ought to be both interesting and uplifting. I found it eminently interesting (even exciting), but, sadly not too uplifting. I felt that the screenwriter strove perhaps a bit too hard to avoid blaming either side. To be sure, the performances of those playing the parts of the Palestinian family were beyond reproach and the same can be said of the Israeli actor leading the soldiers. No mean feat when you consider that these parts were played by Jewish and Arabic actors. I was especially impressed with the two youngest children - a boy and a girl both affected in wildly different ways by the course of events they are forced to endure. While "Private" does eventually strive to convey the utter senselessness of the Israeli-Palestinian war and the possibility of hope for a future where violence need not be resorted to, the sad reality of the true story upon which this film is based, impedes any likelihood that you will leave the cinema (or your favourite movie-watching seat in your house) feeling a sense of hope when the end credits start to roll. I saw this film at the Toronto International Film Festival. I chose to see it because from the basic plot outline I read, I was hoping for a reprise of the kind of film going experience I had watching the Shapiro/Goldberg/Bolado docu "Promises" during the 2001 Film Festival here, which in fact was vastly superior to "Private". I will conclude by mentioning that I have rated this film 7/10.
