|
|
May 19, 2006
Israel proves an easy target
The DOXA Documentary Film & Video Festival begins next week.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
Among the documentaries being presented at this year's DOXA Documentary
Film & Video Festival are two Israel-related films – one
is worth seeing.
Leila Khaled Hijacker opens with filmmaker Lina Makboul admitting
that, when she was a teenager, she idolized Palestinian terrorist/freedom
fighter Leila Khaled. Khaled hijacked two planes as a member of
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP): TWA Flight
840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. In the latter venture,
Khaled was captured by the British but was then exchanged for the
release of hostages from other flights taken by the PFLP. After
that, she quietly disappeared and resumed a more normal life. In
2004, Makboul interviewed Khaled, who, at age 60, was living in
Amman, Jordan, with her husband and two sons.
Khaled was the first woman to hijack an airplane. She did so, ostensibly,
to bring the plight of the Palestinians to the attention of the
world. Makboul wonders if Khaled did not, instead, simply tarnish
the Palestinians' reputation. She wants to know if Khaled has any
regrets about her actions.
Makboul was born in Sweden to Palestinian parents and dreams of
a free Palestinian state. Nonetheless, she asks Khaled all the hard
questions and does not allow her to side-step issues such as whether
killing innocent people is ever justified. Makboul also interviews
members of the planes' crews and a couple of the passengers. She
allows her subjects to relate their stories and their points of
view on terrorism and she is candid about her own confusion on the
matter.
Leila Khaled Hijacker is a fascinating journey of a woman
– in this case, the filmmaker – who is willing to continually
learn from and question the world around her, as well as a look
at those who are not only unwavering in their beliefs, but live
with the certainty that they are correct, such as Khaled.
The documentary Zero Degrees of Separation is all about –
and seemingly by – people like Khaled. Elle Flanders, who was
raised in Canada, has put together an 89-minute anti-Israel screed.
There are some artsy effects and styles used, in that Flanders incorporates
footage from her grandparents' home movies, when they lived in early
Israel, into the documentary and applies that look and feel to other
parts of the film. After a while though, the clips lose their charm
... heck, they're not your family.
Interspersed with these images are interviews with two couples:
one gay, the other lesbian. Supposedly the sexual orientation of
the interviewees is meant to matter, but it doesn't. There was nothing
meaningful in the film about how homosexuals are viewed or treated
in either Israeli or Palestinian society. And it almost doesn't
matter that, in each couple, one partner is Palestinian and the
other is Israeli. Flanders could have taken almost any Israeli on
the extreme left of the political spectrum or any Palestinian and
they would have delivered the same message: Israel is an evil occupier.
The most sadly amusing part of the documentary came near the end.
After more than an hour of bashing Israel from all sides, Ezra,
the Israeli gay man, who was particularly obnoxious – egging
on soldiers any time he could and delivering pompous speeches to
them and Flanders about violence, peace, etc. – says with a
straight face: "Both sides are vile. There are no saints in
this story. Let that be clear." Wow. This reviewer must have
dozed off for the second that anyone criticized the Palestinians.
The fact that this documentary has won numerous awards is incredibly
depressing.
Zero Degrees of Separation screens Thursday, May 25, at 7
p.m., and Leila Khaled Hijacker is being shown on Saturday,
May 27, at 4 p.m. Both are playing at the Vancouver International
Film Centre, 1181 Seymour St. (at Davie).
For information on all of the documentaries that are being shown
at the five-day festival, which runs May 23-28, visit www.doxafestival.ca
or call 604-646-3200. Tickets can be purchased (cash only) at Bibliophile
Books, 2010 Commerical Dr.; Independent Flixx, 976 Denman St.; and
Videomatica, 1855 West 4th Ave. Cash and credit cards are accepted
at Festival Box Office, 1398 Cartwright St., on Granville Island
(604-257-0366 or www.festivalboxoffice.com).
^TOP
|
|
