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82% Tomatometer 33 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Israeli soldiers commandeer the house of a Palestinian family living in an occupied zone.
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Critics Consensus

Italian director Saverio Costanzo delivers a gritty and intimate drama about how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affects a Palestinian family and the Israeli soldiers occupying their home.

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Critics Reviews

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John Hartl Seattle Times 04/07/2006
3/4
A sketchy but compelling Italian movie about Middle East power struggles. Go to Full Review
Empire Magazine 04/01/2006
3/5
The script is occasionally heavy-handed in laying out motivation and meaning, but excellent performances from the Israeli-Palestinian cast and a chilling moral elevate this to more than 'issue film' status. Go to Full Review
Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle 03/18/2006
3/5
Costanzo's debut feature film is potent stuff. Go to Full Review
Tom Dawson The List 04/24/2019
4/5
Shooting with hand-held digital video cameras, Costanzo achieves a powerful immediacy, particularly when conveying the chaos and terror of the nighttime raids endured by the family. Go to Full Review
Sean Axmaker Seattle Post-Intelligencer 04/06/2006
B
... as politically defiant a metaphor for Israeli-Palestinian relations in the occupied territories as you'll ever see on screen. Go to Full Review
Steve Schneider Orlando Weekly 03/09/2006
The movie is more noteworthy for the intimate suspense it brings to the subject of Israeli occupation than for any dramatic conclusion it chooses to reach. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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02/10/2013 This film left me speechless with joy afterwards, it completely blew me away...one of the most incredibly tense films Ive ever watched...please, anyone who loves films find it and cherish it. See more 08/16/2009 what u see in the movie is what u see in real life - pain that innocent palastinian n israeli people been going thru See more 05/04/2009 This is a non artistic movie but a consiousnes of the meaning of the human fact and human issue that are behind the wars and occupation forces. Focused in the Israel-Palestine´s conflict, the italian director Saverio Constanzo makes a pretty balance film without using, the Manichean perspective and the pittyness, a pretty good movie about the people who really are facing the conflicts. The ordinary people and the militar and human factor of the "enemy" soldiers who also carry stories and in certain way had been programed through speeches and had been involved on the army by economical necesities of their family. See more 01/19/2009 Gran film, coraggioso, pieno di tensione e girato molto bene. Da vedere, una piccola perla. See more 08/02/2008 Very thought provoking--I highly recommend it. See more 05/21/2008 Politically: full of stereotypes about the conflict, lacking historical reflection, some but stereotypes not met: the evil Jewish soldiers had no glasses and no big nose. A nightmare. Technically: Come one, "Dogma"-movies can be much more interesting... See more Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Israeli soldiers commandeer the house of a Palestinian family living in an occupied zone.
Director
Saverio Costanzo
Producer
Mario Gianani
Screenwriter
Saverio Costanzo, Sayed Qashua, Camilla Costanzo, Alessio Cremonini
Production Co
Cydonia Pictures, Offiside, RAI Cinema, Istituto Luce Cinecittà
Genre
Drama, War
Original Language
Arabic
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Nov 17, 2005
Release Date (DVD)
Jun 6, 2006
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Dolby