Wars and major political events get most of the attention in the history books and the movies, but what happens in between can be just as interesting, if not as spectacular. The period between the end of the American War for Independence (1783) and the ratification of the Constitution (1789) is such a period. So is the period between the end of World War II (1945) and the establishment of the state of Israel (1948). That is the time covered by The Long Way Home.
Everyone knows what happened during World War II from lots of war movies and from more specific movies such as Schindler's List. The history of Israel since its founding hasn't been as thoroughly covered, but movies such as Munich help. The only other movie I know of that covers the 1945 - 1948 period is Exodus.
Some of the points covered by this movie are surprising. The opposition both to the creation of Israel and to Jews in general was widespread, not just in Germany but also in Britain and even in America. The comments of Ernest Bevin and George Patton are shocking. President Truman was one of the few people in the country who supported Israel. One wonders what would have happened if Roosevelt had still been President.
This story is told from the Israeli point of view. The arguments of the Arabs (e.g. that they shouldn't bear the burden of Germany's policies) are mentioned, but just in passing. Although the movie isn't balanced, it's still a reasonably fair presentation of the history of the foundation of Israel.
Everyone knows what happened during World War II from lots of war movies and from more specific movies such as Schindler's List. The history of Israel since its founding hasn't been as thoroughly covered, but movies such as Munich help. The only other movie I know of that covers the 1945 - 1948 period is Exodus.
Some of the points covered by this movie are surprising. The opposition both to the creation of Israel and to Jews in general was widespread, not just in Germany but also in Britain and even in America. The comments of Ernest Bevin and George Patton are shocking. President Truman was one of the few people in the country who supported Israel. One wonders what would have happened if Roosevelt had still been President.
This story is told from the Israeli point of view. The arguments of the Arabs (e.g. that they shouldn't bear the burden of Germany's policies) are mentioned, but just in passing. Although the movie isn't balanced, it's still a reasonably fair presentation of the history of the foundation of Israel.