What a remarkable film. I cannot tell you anything about who made it, why it was made, who financed it, who the main actors were and what they've done before this.
I cannot say anything much about the music, the setting, or the technical details that make a great film. None of those details matter.
What does matter is that it is an engaging film that speaks of the only way that Jews and Muslims are ever going to solve their difficulties.
It must begin with women and not just ordinary women, but women of great incite and tolerance and dare I use the word, love.
Both cultures have the word in their religion's vocabulary. The film seems to be saying learn what it means, and how to use it. The film takes for granted that both these women know what friendship means. They are bound not so much by their differences as their similarities.
Basically, the plot revolves around two modern women (or at least women who have grown up in a modern world) of vastly different backgrounds. They meet at the school where they will both be teaching. One, a Muslim, has been assigned a regular grade 4 class and the other, a Jew, has been assigned to special Education - her main assignment seems to be a blind boy who understands the workings of the soul almost as well as his teacher. Certainly, he is more practical and a lot more jovial.
The grade 4 class brings the problem into direct focus. They have obviously watched too much Fox News. They think that all Jews have horns (according to their Arab Neighbors) and all Arabs are bloodthirsty terrorists (according to the Jewish media). These two women work together on an idea developed by the Special Ed teacher to show that prejudice can be overcome by groups that don't allow hatred and ugly connotative words to develop at inflexibly deep levels.
The scenes that follow all have to do with welcoming strangers into one's home (The Muslim family does, the Jewish one does not), choices in marriage (both girls have a problem with this, but only the Jewish woman has a problem with her family as well) or the talk that binds their friendship.
I know that life is not that simple, but if we do not find alternatives to the hatred in the planet, then we will live in a hate-infested planet. Someone has to have the courage to write and speak about what can be done, not what is done. We need hopes, not 6:00 news. We need laughter and understanding, not tears and hatred. We need what this film offers.
I gave this film a 10 because it offered us choices, and it did so in a way that compromises nothing of our beliefs, and did everything it could to enhance our humanity. It did it with humor, good will, common sense and a little bit of cunning, but just a little.
I cannot say anything much about the music, the setting, or the technical details that make a great film. None of those details matter.
What does matter is that it is an engaging film that speaks of the only way that Jews and Muslims are ever going to solve their difficulties.
It must begin with women and not just ordinary women, but women of great incite and tolerance and dare I use the word, love.
Both cultures have the word in their religion's vocabulary. The film seems to be saying learn what it means, and how to use it. The film takes for granted that both these women know what friendship means. They are bound not so much by their differences as their similarities.
Basically, the plot revolves around two modern women (or at least women who have grown up in a modern world) of vastly different backgrounds. They meet at the school where they will both be teaching. One, a Muslim, has been assigned a regular grade 4 class and the other, a Jew, has been assigned to special Education - her main assignment seems to be a blind boy who understands the workings of the soul almost as well as his teacher. Certainly, he is more practical and a lot more jovial.
The grade 4 class brings the problem into direct focus. They have obviously watched too much Fox News. They think that all Jews have horns (according to their Arab Neighbors) and all Arabs are bloodthirsty terrorists (according to the Jewish media). These two women work together on an idea developed by the Special Ed teacher to show that prejudice can be overcome by groups that don't allow hatred and ugly connotative words to develop at inflexibly deep levels.
The scenes that follow all have to do with welcoming strangers into one's home (The Muslim family does, the Jewish one does not), choices in marriage (both girls have a problem with this, but only the Jewish woman has a problem with her family as well) or the talk that binds their friendship.
I know that life is not that simple, but if we do not find alternatives to the hatred in the planet, then we will live in a hate-infested planet. Someone has to have the courage to write and speak about what can be done, not what is done. We need hopes, not 6:00 news. We need laughter and understanding, not tears and hatred. We need what this film offers.
I gave this film a 10 because it offered us choices, and it did so in a way that compromises nothing of our beliefs, and did everything it could to enhance our humanity. It did it with humor, good will, common sense and a little bit of cunning, but just a little.