Although Susan Sontag's reputation as a public intellectual may have faded a bit, it's nice to have her 1974 film Promised Lands—the only documentary she ever directed—available again after a long absence. An impressionistic portrait of Israel in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, it sets shot-on-the-fly footage of ordinary life against a sonic backdrop of gunshots and explosions. Among the sequences are a somber military funeral, a surrealistic tour of a wax museum that depicts events from the nation's history, and an episode showing a traumatized soldier being treated in a psych ward. These scenes are juxtaposed with excerpts from interviews of two writers who take very different positions on the Palestinian issue. Yoram Kaniuk emphasizes the changes in Israeli culture over the decades—from socialist commitment to consumerism—while also expressing many younger Israelis' exhaustion with endless conflict. Although realistic about extreme claims on both sides, Kaniuk retains a muted hope that some accommodation might be achieved. Physicist Yuval Ne'eman, on the other hand, argues that the Arabs nurture a form of anti-Semitism no less fierce than what led to the Holocaust in Europe, and believes reconciliation will be impossible. Promised Lands remains provocative today—a sad commentary on how little attitudes have changed. DVD extras include a reprint of a 1974 Vogue article by Sontag about the making of the film, and poster art by Paul Chan. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Promised Lands
(1974) 87 min. In English, Hebrew & Arabic w/English subtitles. DVD: $29.99. Zeitgeist Video (avail. from most distributors). Volume 26, Issue 3
Promised Lands
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