94 mins |
Rated
M
The Egyptian and Israeli borders are effectively closed, the Kerem Shalom crossing, managed by the Israel Airports Authority being the only commercial crossing between Gaza and Israel. Young people in the prime of their lives are confined and restricted and cannot realize their aspirations... The film has real value as a compassionate human document, in showing ordinary people who courageously have to keep going somehow, in the grimmest of conditions, in a world where, as someone puts it, there is a “wall between the people of Gaza and life itself”. A young woman practices the cello, a young man records rap tracks, a theatre director rehearses a performance piece, a fisherman broods over the oppression of his industry – they are not allowed to fish more than three miles out, and the amount of fish that can be caught so close to shore is pitifully meagre. The sea is what the people of Gaza face: the one boundary that does not seem so brutal, something that should conceivably be a source of comfort, but is almost as unforgiving as the land barriers. A sombre, angry film about a people under political siege.
★★★★
"...a striking piece of film-making, beautifully shot by McConnell."
Wendy Ide, THE OBSERVER UK
★★★★
"..a documentary that is filled with breathtaking imagery that rarely makes it into media coverage of Gaza... gorgeously shot.
It’s undeniably powerful and eye-opening"
Daniel Fienberg HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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The Egyptian and Israeli borders are effectively closed, the Kerem Shalom crossing, managed by the Israel Airports Authority being the only commercial crossing between Gaza and Israel. Young people in the prime of their lives are confined and restricted and cannot realize their aspirations... The film has real value as a compassionate human document, in showing ordinary people who courageously have to keep going somehow, in the grimmest of conditions, in a world where, as someone puts it, there is a “wall between the people of Gaza and life itself”. A young woman practices the cello, a young man records rap tracks, a theatre director rehearses a performance piece, a fisherman broods over the oppression of his industry – they are not allowed to fish more than three miles out, and the amount of fish that can be caught so close to shore is pitifully meagre. The sea is what the people of Gaza face: the one boundary that does not seem so brutal, something that should conceivably be a source of comfort, but is almost as unforgiving as the land barriers. A sombre, angry film about a people under political siege.
★★★★
"...a striking piece of film-making, beautifully shot by McConnell."
Wendy Ide, THE OBSERVER UK
★★★★
"..a documentary that is filled with breathtaking imagery that rarely makes it into media coverage of Gaza... gorgeously shot.
It’s undeniably powerful and eye-opening"
Daniel Fienberg HOLLYWOOD REPORTER