Israel: The Other Reality

The irritating lack of attention given to sound quality hurts this otherwise absorbing documentary about the conflicts between Jews and Arabs on Israel's West Bank, and the little pockets of solidarity that exist between the two groups. Novelist and journalist Izzy Abrahami, a Bulgarian Jew, took his cameras around the countryside where he encountered violent hatred on both sides, to be sure, but also some promising alliances. In one town, we see Jewish women soldiers being taught Arabic by an Arab instructor. In another we see young Jewish kids whose best friends are Arabs, and vice versa. And elsewhere, Abrahami uncovers two-party small businesses (one Jew, one Arab) where the principals not only work in harmony, but share unbreakable trust in matters of money. Near the end of the program, the filmmakers talk about the June 1988 Peace Pact, which was signed by Jewish and Arab artists and writers. It is, hopefully, a sign of the future course of events in this violence-ridden region. The down side of all of this, as mentioned above, is that the sound quality is sometimes poor, and sometimes simply mismanaged: as when talking people and blaring music drown each other out. Although this problem doesn't characterize the entire film, it's significant enough to drop our rating down a half-star. Recommended, with the above reservations. (See DAVID GOLDBLATT IN BLACK AND WHITE for availability.)