Bab el shams

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!

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 film is a very good Directed film compared to other Arabic films and the most amazing thing in the movie which i didn't expect at all is the acting of actors and actress it is really amazing and the decoration and dresses is very good speacialy things which show Palestinians life BUT............. it is still has a certain disadvantage the film is sooooooo long although it could be shorter lots of scenes could be shortened or even canceled also there is some events which is a little bit tricky so Concentrate , and never get asleep :) now we could compare this movie to other good Arabic movies first of all i have never seen a movie on the Palestinian life before there may be but i didn't see it so i think this film writer has chosen the right subject . so my grade to the movie is 8 from 10 which mean it is good film my recommendation for the movie go directly to the cinema and see it thanks

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

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