Zaytoun

Set in 1982 Beirut, Lebanon, during a cross-border conflict with Israel, Zaytoun stars Stephen Dorff as Yoni, an Israeli pilot who survives a crash landing during a bombing raid. Taken prisoner by armed Palestinians, Yoni meets 12-year-old Fahed (Abdallah El Akal), an orphan who faces the dangerous ostracism felt by all Palestinians in the city. Harboring a strong desire to see his late parents' village again, Fahed frees Yoni in exchange for the latter's help in getting to his family's original home. Zaytoun soon develops into a kind of buddy movie with international consequences, especially after Yoni—who becomes a father figure to young Fahed—brings the boy back with him to his military base. Escaping from a series of dire circumstances, the pair get to know and care about each other on the journey. Both Dorff and El Akal bring intensity to their roles, balanced by bouts of mirth and warmth, in this accessible drama from director Eran Riklis that also sheds light on the misery of Beirut during that time, when a bright, urbane Lebanese downtown was turned into the bombed-out blight of the Palestinian quarter. Recommended. (T. Keogh)