Don't Believe the Hype

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Okay, so I watched this documentary called Promises today. It's a documentary about Israeli and Palestinian children and sort of investigates their perspectives on the Israel/Palestine.Honestly, going into the film, I thought I knew what to expect--kids being all lovely-dovey and hopeful for peace and wondering why the adults just don't get along. This was not true. Throughout the course of the film, you see the obvious impact of the conflict in Israel-Palestine on the children and how it skews their perceptions towards fear and the dogmatism of their older generations.Of course, given some time, their innocence does appear and they develop a willingness to engage each other. (This is on the DVD synopsis, so I'm not giving anything away). It's in that willingness and that changed perspective in allowing the feared to become human that causes hope to be born. Not to say that everything is peachy in the end; the documentary follows up in the DVD's extra features and the real world still affects the youth.I wonder what happened to these kids-now-young-adults in the recent conflicts. When you put a real name and face and story to people in the situation, it becomes harder to ignore it.Stylistically, the documentary is typical straightforward piece with lots of talking heads (mostly children) intercut with observational sequences. The directors/crew mostly stay out of the picture, but still can't help but getting involved, which is all right by me (I'm by no means an observational purist--in fact, I think it creates fiction out of non-fiction).The film is remarkable in that it bothers to plead for sanity and peace (shalom/salaam) in a world that's torn apart by violence. Good viewing. 8/10.

First of all, to the people who had the idea: Congratulations. What an honest, human and original look at the israeli/palestinian issue. I mean, we see these kids who could easily grow, given their influences and environment, to know only hatred. But they do have one thing going for them: they were given this amazing opportunity to get to know the other side, and understand that despite this huge wall of disagreement separating them, they were very much alike. It makes you believe there's hope for a solution, if the two sides can put themselves in each other's shoes, and understand that life is always precious. I think "Promises" should be shown in schools everywhere. It's a great way to get kids (and grown-ups) to relate and to be more sensitive to what's happening half way around the world. I was stuck to my seat throughout the whole thing. It really moved me. Next time it's on I'll try to get my family to watch with me. I strongly recommend it.

Far behind the headlines are the people engaged in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. What's more, there are people behind the teens and adults killing themselves and each other in this conflict. There are the children growing up very fast in the midst of all this insanity. The film gives you a glint of hope that this conflict could some day end by planting the seeds of cooperation in the next generation, but then makes you wonder when revisiting the same children, slightly older, and more personally affected by tragedies on both sides. Overly aged, bitter, and sounding very much rhetorically programmed, these kids are being swept up in forces much larger than them, and one wonders if we can't count on the children to end this vicious cycle, how will the conflict ever end?

"Promises" is a feel-good sort of film -- far too easy for my taste, and not a good documentary. More like an opinion piece or a film essay. It's basically the "liberal" Israeli perspective -- the perspective that says "Well, wouldn't it be nice if we could all just get along?" without addressing the basic relationship between Israelis and Palestinians, which is embodied in the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This film essentially treats the Palestinian and Israeli characters as if they are on an equal footing, having a healthy ideological debate. The reality is, of course, far different.If you want a more realistic portrayal of what is going on in the minds of Palestinians, and the situation that they face on a daily basis, I would recommend seeing "Gaza Strip" (2002) which is much more of a verite, unscripted piece of solid documentary work. "Gaza Strip" doesn't cover the Israeli perspective, but it does provide a much deeper picture of the Palestinians than "Promises". Also, "Promises" was filmed almost entirely before the start of the current Palestinian uprising, so it tends to paint what is already an out-of-date picture. The two films would complement each other, I think.