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Palestine 36

Play trailer 1:48 Poster for Palestine 36 Nov 2025 1h 58m Biography History Drama War Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 96% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
1936. As villages across mandatory Palestine rise against British colonial rule, Yusuf drifts between his rural home and the restless energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest. But history is relentless. With rising numbers of Jewish immigrants escaping antisemitism in Europe, and the Palestinian population uniting in the largest and longest uprising against Britain's 30-year dominion, all sides spiral towards inevitable collision in a decisive moment for the British Empire and the future of the entire region.

Critics Reviews

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Donald Clarke Irish Times 2d
3/5
Making skilful use of colourised archive footage, the film drags up not just unavoidable pointers to the area’s current miseries, but also reminders of similar western interventions in parts as remote as Vietnam and (yes) Ireland. Go to Full Review
Sheri Linden The Hollywood Reporter Nov 26
This is a story of national identity and resistance with contemporary resonance, but it’s also a classic genre movie, its historical tapestry populated by a strong ensemble of screen stars as well as impressive newcomers. Go to Full Review
Marcel Steinbauer-Lewis Little White Lies Nov 3
3/5
Occasionally, this devolves into lazy, newspaper-headline storytelling, but at its best it cuts between historical footage and new material and achieves the awed emotional resonance of connecting history with the present. Go to Full Review
Panos Kotzathanasis Asian Movie Pulse Nov 24
6.5
"Palestine 36" stands as an outstanding achievement—both as a self-contained story and as an illuminating depiction of how the Palestinian issue emerged in modern times, showing with clarity and conviction how history continues to echo into the present. Go to Full Review
Frank J. Avella The Contending Nov 22
C+
The filmmaking is impressive, even when the script is wonky. But the portrayal of the British as monstrous villains with no nuance, felt heavy handed. I give props to actors like Irons who manage to rise above their one-dimensionally written roles. Go to Full Review
Tom Dawson Radio Times Nov 11
4/5
Palestine 36 vividly brings the past to life and its production couldn't be timelier, given Israel's escalation of action against Palestinians in these disputed lands. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Greg Dec 7 Provides pre-WW2 peek into the brutal displacement of Palestinians and Britain's strategy through Zionism. See more Fa'eq S @Faeq.Sayegh 1d Palestine 36 is an exceptional film—powerful, meticulous, and deeply moving in every respect. From its storytelling to its emotional pacing, it stands as a work of rare honesty and courage. For me, the experience was profoundly heartbreaking. Watching the film felt like listening once again to the stories my grandparents told me—stories of displacement, loss, and resilience as Palestinian refugees who lived through the British occupation of Palestine and the violent seizure of land that followed. The film does not merely recount history; it gives voice to lived memory. It captures the fear, dignity, and quiet endurance of ordinary people whose lives were upended, yet whose spirit was never broken. Palestine 36 is more than a historical film. It is a moral statement, a preservation of collective memory, and a reminder that cinema can be both art and witness. It leaves a lasting impression—one that is painful, necessary, and impossible to forget. See more Questing W @Mr.Tibbs 5d A well-written multi layered historical thriller/drama that dares reveal a seldom discussed taboo subject of the British occupation of a foreign land: PALESTINE. The lead actors with their nuances execute powerful three dimensional performances that leave you wanting more. The tense nerve wracking plot and the unfolding of history before your eyes remind me of classical movies such as THE PATRIOT and BRAVEHEART with Mel Gibson. The director does not waste time in melodrama or pleading for the audience's sympathy or empathy. Not at all. Instead the director puts us in the viewers seat as if we were watching these events unfold before us in an entertaining, heart-breaking and inspirational manner. The characters want what any patriotic person who loves their country wants: freedom, peace, love and human dignity. That is what makes this movie relatable to any sane person. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! See more harold m @colonepurple 5d This is a slickly made film of revisionist propaganda. It totally ignores the facts. The turkish census showed a jewish majority in jerusalem in 1900. Under international law, the 1920 san remo conference awarded the mandate to the jewish people. Perfidiously, as the British never obey international law, the made the illegal state of Trans-jordan in 1921 - jews were expelled and forbidden to buy land. They then gave the golan to the french mandate of syria in 1923. In the 1/3 of the mandate that remained, the British allowed unlimited arab immigration in the 1930s, whilst stopping all jewish immigration, on purpose to make a jewish state impossible. Even making a concentration camp in cyprus. 95% of the so-called palestinians today are illegal economic migrants in the 1930s. "So far from being persecuted, the Arabs have crowded into the country and multiplied till their population has increased more than even all world Jewry could lift up the Jewish population." - Winston Churchill See more Ahlam Dec 15 Incredible story, history, cast, cinematography. A must see! See more Anees H @Justice255 Dec 14 I was blessed to see this movie at a special preview before it came out. It is an accurate and amazing portrayal of how the British colonized and gave away land that eventually became Israel. I wish every American and everyone in the world has a chance to view this movie. So the true facts about Israel came into existence is known. See more Read all reviews
Palestine 36

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Movie Info

Synopsis 1936. As villages across mandatory Palestine rise against British colonial rule, Yusuf drifts between his rural home and the restless energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest. But history is relentless. With rising numbers of Jewish immigrants escaping antisemitism in Europe, and the Palestinian population uniting in the largest and longest uprising against Britain's 30-year dominion, all sides spiral towards inevitable collision in a decisive moment for the British Empire and the future of the entire region.
Director
Annemarie Jacir
Producer
Ossama Bawardi
Screenwriter
Annemarie Jacir
Distributor
Watermelon Pictures
Production Co
Philistine Films, Autonomous, Corniche Media, MK Productions, Snowglobe
Genre
Biography, History, Drama, War
Original Language
Arabic
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 28, 2025, Limited
Runtime
1h 58m