Such a frustrating disappointment

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

(spoilers)"Bethlehem" directed by Yuval Adler, is a decent suspense drama set in Israel along very similar lines to it's sister movie entitled "Omar". Here there is an overarching plot that is not as well focused as "Omar". Suffice to say about 2/3 of the way through the movie the filmmakers decide to can the initial drive of the movie and go along a different line with secondary characters. This doesn't hold as much dramatic weight. By the end we know what's going to happen and there is little if no tension. Still the movie has a good first 2/3 setup until the main character's brother is killed in fighting is fairly captivating. The editing and camera work is not the best nor is the accompanying soundtrack showing the budget constraints. 6/10

Bethlehem (2013/I) is an Israeli film co-written and directed by Yuval Adler. It tells the story of a Palestinian adolescent, Sanfur (played by Shadi Mar'i) and his relationship with Razi, an Israeli intelligence officer (played by Tsahi Halevi).Like the true situation in the region, this is a game without winners. Razi honestly cares about Sanfur, but this care should always be secondary to his real goal--finding the leaders of Hamas. Sanfur's brother is an important Hamas leader, so the plan is to have Sanfur lead the Israelis to the brother, who is the person they want to capture or kill.As would be expected, nothing goes as planned. One horrible situation replaces another horrible situation. In fact, this is one of the few films I've seen where there is no quiet, safe moment. If I am remembering correctly, no one ever smiles or relaxes. (Razi's wife has the thankless role of telling him, "Be careful, Razi." We never get to see any real affection between them.)I'm not an expert in the situation in the area, so I can't comment about the movie's authenticity. To my non-expert eye, the movie looked very realistic. Grim and realistic.It's worth seeing this film because it is extremely well constructed and well acted. However, just watch it with the understanding that you won't leave the theater--or eject the DVD--in a happy frame of mind.The movie will work well on DVD, but we were fortunate enough to see it on the large screen at the fine Dryden Theatre as part of the outstanding Rochester Jewish Film Festival.

This was by far the best film I saw at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Incredibly well written, brilliant, extremely fair and even-handed at a very divisive issue, beautifully filmed and with a shocking ending that literally left the audience gaping and stunned. Everything ties together perfectly and makes you rethink through the entire film all over again. Fantastic acting, simply a phenomenal film.Not for the faint of heart, and it is not a happy-go-lucky film, but certainly well thought out and very fair. I can't say enough about it, go see the film for yourself! Well done.

It is not a political movie.No positive, no negative of Arab/Jews conflict.No left, no right its the Reality.they Just made ​​an excellent film, good acting. Beautiful plot.I loved the acting of Tsahi Halevi-"razi"- the agent, he was very good.The action Scene are very good.Excellent dialog. Who loved The Departed will love this movie.the Viewer Continue to think about the movie after leaving the Cinema.I enjoyed very much from the film.Highly recommended.