Inch'Allah

I've been traveling enough in Israel to be aware of the situation of Palestinian people. "We are in war", says the Israeli soldier. Which war? Hard to watch sometimes but every face of the world must be shown. I don't know what else to say.

A moving story that shows some of the travesty that is allowed to happen there. also surprisingly seems to side with the Palestinians (1 viewing)

The woman leading the characters, a doctor from Quebec, Canada, is a sensitive, life- loving person, who has no prejudice, and develops friends on both sides of the Israeli- Palestinian border. The brutality of everyday life in this war zone, thus weighs heavily upon her psyche. She sees the people on both sides of the border, as valuable human beings, whereas most of those around her are tragically, held by fear and hatred towards the other side. This gives a fairly good view of the tense situation, that exists in this area and the life of little hope that exists, particularly in the "conquered" Arab region. It's a valuable look behind the superficiality of the media, towards this troubled land, through the eyes of someone with investment in both sides. This is cinema for grown-ups, where the "bang-bang" has real human consequences.

Chloé (Evelyne Brochu) is a Quebecois doctor working to serve the Palestinian people. She travels in and out of the territories. She makes friends with Rand (Sabrina Ouazani) a pregnant Palestinian girl, and Ava (Sivan Levy) an Israeli soldier.

She tries to be a detached worker at first. As her relationships grow deeper, the suffering in the territories start to cause her emotional pain. Pain that she keeps under control until one incident at a checkpoint. They filmed this right on some of the real locations. That made this instantly compelling. The everyday existence do slow the movie down. However it does slowly change Chloé's viewpoint. The ending is a little too abrupt. Her final change over need more than one cause. Maybe there could be more about her life at home before coming over.

I can't believe some of the negative comments about this film. If ever you want to get some enlightenment about what it is like to live in or near the occupied territories then you must see this film. It is a really powerful film that has a subtle,realistic and non-judgmental narrative. The film does not try to justify terrorism attacks (as another reviewer suggested) but rather gives an insight into how normal nice everyday people can -because of a combination and build up of horrendous circumstance - feel such hatred towards "the other side". And when it seems like there is no future for themselves they are driven to commit acts of atrocity. The film doesn't try to say this is OK - it simply provides an insight - that is both brutal and poignant - into how and why these horrible events can unfold.

I thought the acting was brilliant. I felt a connection with all the lead characters. The actress playing the doctor was in most scenes and she did an amazing job and was very believable. The scene stealer was the young Arab boy who was a charmer and formed an odd bond with the Doctor.

It is a film I can't stop thinking about and in my mind that makes it a very special movie.