Promises

Released Mar 15, 2002

1h 46m

Documentary

List

96%

Tomatometer

47 Reviews

96%

Audience Score

2,500+ Ratings

Rather than focusing on political events, the seven children featured in "Promises" offer a compelling human portrait of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. The film draws viewers into the hearts and minds of Jerusalem's children by giving voice to those captured by the region's hatreds as well as those able to transcend them. Audiences will engage with Palestinian and Israeli kids, coming to know them as multi-dimensional people, not as stereotypes perpetuated by the mainstream media.

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Critics Consensus

A heartbreaking and illuminating look at the Israeli and Palestinian conflict through the eyes of children.

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 3/5

Dec 30, 2006

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Marta Barber

Miami Herald

A gripping documentary that reveals how deep the antagonism lies in war-torn Jerusalem.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 15, 2002

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Jane Sumner

Dallas Morning News

What's so extraordinary about this Oscar-nominated work is that it shows us that conflict through the eyes of seven bright, funny, thoughtful kids, ages 9 to 13, on both sides.

Rated: A

Aug 22, 2002

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Apollo Guide

Rated: 83/100

May 13, 2005

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Forrest Hartman

Reno Gazette-Journal

Beautifully explains the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Rated: A

Dec 16, 2004

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Rob Blackwelder

SPLICEDWire

Rated: 4/4

May 22, 2004

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spencer p

Truly heartfelt, genuine, and occasionally even funny, this window of the differences, and union, between children of warring cultures is an essential world documentary for all.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This was a very good documentary. I especially liked the fact that the director does not seek to show his point of view but rather the point of view of the children. True journalism is when u cover a story not get involved in it your self. Stephan Bannon can learn a lot about how to make a documentary from this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It doesn't happen that often to me, tears in my eyes. It really is a powerful movie. I just had the feeling that some shots or scenes were cut away to soon. Like when Faraj starts to tell that he is afraid when B.Z. will leave, he can't meet the Israeli children anymore. This was such a powerful and emotional charged scene, I believe you could keep me longer in this feeling. What I like a lot about the documentary is that I have the feeling that the makers did not choose one side of the story. Both, the Israeli and Palestinian side of the story is been told in different ways. I was pleasantly surprised to not see the cliché images of shootings and stones flying towards the soldiers. I liked to get to know more about this conflict by the stories of (innocent?) children. My favorite scene is when the little Israeli girl, Raheli tells about the Mitzva well she is trying to get two chairs separate. In a way I believe this scene tells a lot about the situation in a very innocent way. It was also hilarious when she talks about her brother and "his" computer... A beautiful, well told dream about the future. I was very glad to see that the filmmakers succeeded in there attempt to connect the Palestinians and Israeli children. But I was really disappointed to hear the children talking about the situation two years later. They admit that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is hopeless and almost lost there hope of ending this conflict. So hard, but true! To end with the shot's of Israeli baby's with a blanket with the words "peace" written on it was for me unnecessary. I believe this is so cliché! And I also had a problem with showing only Israeli baby's. Why was that? Does the filmmakers want to tell that these baby's are the future and have to solve this tragedy? Or ...? I hope that one day it's no longer possible to make movies about this tragedy. I hope this endless conflict will end soon.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I loved the movie, it was deeply touching, the progression and storyteling were very entertaining, the contrast in the stories was vivid and helped convey the message faster.. The kids were brilliant, I loved all of them, especially Sanabel and the twins.. their stories were presented in a normal frame, yet nothing in their lives was normal.. their daily routines, their thoughts and reactions to things like checkpoints and sagregation were both intresting and insightful.. I recommend this movie for anyone familiar with the arab-israeli conflict or not, regardless of their political view of the conflict.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A great insight on a different culture and a focus on a subject so relevant still. To see the observations made by children are always profound and trustworthy because they have yet to understand greed, but of course they're influenced by their families. In a cultural aspect I found it very interesting to see how the two children in the Jewish settlement fell into the gender roles that we are skeptical of in the Western world. The documentary in itself isn't all that great, it's very good, but not one of the great docs. But there aren't many documentary efforts in the Middle East and the fact that they view the perspective of children really lifts the film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

s r

Informative, and by looking through the children's eyes the issues seem so simple; yet peace still evades the adults who have the power to make change. I was happy that it showed how there are different levels of hatred for each culture and these divides within themselves often are what undermine a united voice for change. It spent a long time getting to the important points, and could have been edited for better effect. There was a touching point when the children were all crying together about the tragedies they had experienced. This was the most memorable moment of the film because it puts into perspective that the children are the real people who suffer, and will suffer if we cannot right the wrongs our forefathers have made.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Justine Shapiro

Director

Carlos Bolado

Director

B.Z. Goldberg

Director

Justine Shapiro

Producer

B.Z. Goldberg

Producer

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Synopsis

Rather than focusing on political events, the seven children featured in "Promises" offer a compelling human portrait of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. The film draws viewers into the hearts and minds of Jerusalem's children by giving voice to those captured by the region's hatreds as well as those able to transcend them. Audiences will engage with Palestinian and Israeli kids, coming to know them as multi-dimensional people, not as stereotypes perpetuated by the mainstream media.

Director: Justine Shapiro, Carlos Bolado, B.Z. Goldberg
Distributor: Cowboy Pictures
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 15, 2002, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $243.8K
Runtime: 1h 46m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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