Salt of This Sea (2008)

Sick Product of a Sick System

hyped garbage

How sad is this?

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Rather than reflecting the life in PA territories, the movie is an illustration to the leftist and Arab anti-Israeli propaganda: Monstrous Israelis persecuting nice peaceful Palestinian Arabs and the deep connection" of the descendants of the Palestinian-Arab "the land of their ancestors".Not wanting to reveal much of the movie I will just comment on one fake incident: A Palestinian Arab driving his car is suddenly stopped by the Israeli soldiers who through the speakers in the army car tell him to take his shirt and pants off (for security reasons). He then tells his American friend that this is "normal". This this movie is promoting lies, because such thing extremely unlikely. I have traveled in the territories and have talked with many people. Never have seen or heard such thing. This is only one many such lies, I can't talk about them all without revealing the plot.

Jacir paints with precise strokes, each hue reflecting the truth in a way that entertains and enlightens. She creates a virtual travelogue of dispossession in the form of an outrage wrapped in a tragedy; paradoxically revealed in a beautiful film. It takes us beyond the fair and balanced view of history that each side has a point and reminds us that we are all on the same side and that is the only point that matters. The film forces us to see what is plain and in doing so makes clear the choices we make and the consequences of those choices. We are the central characters in this human drama.The film unfolds easily in a style that is both free and rebellious, through the reflection of a bruised and suffocated Palestine. The courage of the heroine, her unwavering strength, faith and rejection of injustice mark a path where everything is but difficult and her refusal to bury her dreams contrast starkly with the reality imposed on the characters. Salt of the Sea is a deeply layered film, a film that is quasi-militant and seeped in passion, but devoid of hatred of any kind. Salt of the Sea has proved to be a great discovery, a film that is both courageous and necessary. And as a bonus, a sublime find: Suheir Hammad - both beautiful and vibrant as she moves through a variety of emotions.Salt of This Sea compels us to make a choice between the cold comfort of indifference or the knowledge that we can make a difference. The turnstiles were installed by us in the land and in our hearts. Salt of This Sea reminds us that we have the power to tear those turnstiles down.

Cinema, in my eyes, is an art. The best pieces of art in almost any medium are subjective pieces of work they allow you to understand what the artist's feelings, emotion, messages etc. are. However when inducing politics into art one should be very objective. It is impossible to set out a rational film on a political issue if the movie is made in a subjective manner. 'Salt of this Sea' is one such movie where a strive has been made to critique a very delicate situation in Isreal/Palestine, however it is done in such a narrow scope, and at times, disgustingly sentimental way. The mere fact that in the movie, the main character feels such a strong connection with a place she has never been before, is almost laughable, as is the demonising of almost all Isreali characters throughout the film. There can be no doubt that some of the plot and events in the film have merit, but there is an overwhelming bias toward one side of a very complex and challenging issue, that it does no justice to history of the story it is trying to tell.

A friend of ours who is of Palestinian descent invited us to see this movie at Berkeley's California theater and didn't know what to expect. The movie was presented by the Arab Film Festival to a sold out crowd. This movie took us on an eye opening journey of how horribly Palestinians refugees are treated by the settlers. During painful moments in the movie, the audience around me would sigh and groan at what was happening. I thought "It's just a movie" and then realized it is not just a movie. It is what is truly happening now, today! Though I am not Palestinian, I would remember stories my Mother told me about how the Japanese would treat Filipinos during the war. The minimization of an entire culture of people by invaders who believed they had right to her country. I truly recommend every American who has not read or heard of the history of Palistine see this movie. I hope to see more movies about Palistine in hopes we can learn more and understand what is the truth.