Bab el shams

This movie is divided into two parts, the first dealing with the Palestinians' displacement in the 1948 war and the history since then, and the second part dealing more specifically with the Lebanon war and the Palestinians' complicated situation there.

The first part is absolutely brilliant, a totally engaging epic told through the a comatose Palestinian militant. The second part has a lot more dialogue and gets a bit didactic in parts, where it seems like the characters are just explaining the politics of the Middle East for the benefit of the camera. Since the whole movie runs 4.5 hours, this half could probably have benefited from some cutting, but it's still hard to criticize the film as a whole.

This a very beautiful and very personal account of a story of a nation. Nasrallah did a great job. The dialog, imagery, costumes, acting are superb, touching and very human. Filmography is very good, excellent director of photography.

The fact that it contains two parts is a very subtle distinction between how two generations view the nakbah.

Life in pre-nakbah Palestine is both idyllic and realistic, the depiction life afterwards is very expressive.

The film is a tour de force and emotionally charged.

Two thumbs up!

Bab el Shams is considered in my opinion one of the greatest Arabic movies ever if not the best. The movie is about Israel's beginning and the struggle of the helpless Palestinians. The first half is technically marvelous, great scenes, wonderful picture and amazing acting for all the cast. It tells how it all began and how the Palestinians suffered and it shows how it was like before the war between the Arabs and the Zionists. It objectively shows how the Jews looked like when compared to the Arabs in 1948 They were educated, organized in their camps, overall more civilized than the Arabs (probably because they were immigrants from Europe and America). The movie is criticizing the Arabs more than attacking the Israelis The second half of the movie really challenges your mind and keeps you alert for every word is said has a meaning or two One of my favorite scenes was when um younis told her husband (the warrior) to listen to her for once in her life and see what she really needs; she told him that she and his kids are now working for the Israelis. It is a must see movie but please if you gonna see it, first don't watch it with preset ideas, second..do not compare it with Hollywood commercial movies

The history of a nation , lies in the memories of its heroes... An amazing journey through the memories of a dying fighter , taking us through the Arab Israeli conflict , shocking details of a history that most of us r desiring to know about , a very interesting movie dealing with very sensitive issues with a very daring handling , I LOVED IT!!! i would like to comment on the great performance of Rim El-Turky in the role of Nahila the fighter's wife , & also the escape scene was fascinating , & i can't ignore the music as it just puts u into the mood.... i just wish to see this movie winning some big award in some international festival , as it deserves it! u should see it to know for yourself...

I had high expectations from this film: 270 min. epic about Palestine. ..but in the end, I had to walk out of the movie before the end, as some scenes were pure ridiculous. Of course, it's a political movie, and the Jews are portrayed almost the same like Nazis, but the main reason for not liking it was the direction and the acting. Quite understandable, there are no good actors in here, most of them seemed to be amateurs, but this is not an excuse for a director to deliver such a distasteful movie. Way to many close-ups, and running scenes were everyone is looking into the camera, like waiting for the next signal to do something. The sceneries, costumes and the music were brilliant, but this was not enough to make me recommend this film. Sorry.

6/10