'Palestine 36' Watermelon Pictures Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Writer-director Annemarie Jacir takes on her largest-scale production to date with Palestine 36, a panoramic drama that interweaves period re-creations with evocative archival footage and revolves among characters both fictional and historical. The multi-viewpoint story unfolds during a pivotal moment for the Palestinian people, the beginning of a three-year uprising against the British Empire's increasingly unjust rule and the impact of settlers fleeing anti-Jewish persecution in Europe. 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. Related Stories Movies Robert Aramayo, the Yorkshire Kid Who Found the Heart (and Laughs) in 'I Swear' Movies 'Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk' Director Sepideh Farsi on Bearing Witness to Gaza's Human Cost Like any historical drama, it has a point of view and doesn't explore every facet of the events it depicts. But neither does it pretend to do so. And even as Jacir maintains an affecting Palestinian perspective, her movie offers far more facets and nuances than, say, Exodus, Hollywood's star-studded paean to Zionism; in that 1960 release, Arab Palestinians are mostly offscreen impediments to the creation of a Jewish state. Palestine 36, in its glimpses of the European settlers' children, however brief, holds them in a kind of embrace and acknowledges their essential innocence in a desperately ill-conceived plan. (A dozen years after the events of Jacir's film, the village at its center would be razed during the Nakba - destroyed by Haganah troops, the heroes of Exodus.) Palestine 36 The Bottom Line Vivid and stirring. Release date: Friday, Nov. 28Cast: Hiam Abbas, Kamel El Basha, Yasmine Al Massri, Jalal Altawil, Robert Aramayo, Saleh Bakri, Yafa Bakri, Karim Daoud Anaya, Wardi Eilabouni, Ward Helou, Billy Howle, Dhafer L'Abidine, Liam Cunningham, Jeremy IronsDirector-screenwriter: Annemarie Jacir 1 hour 59 minutes Jacir's feature began production in Palestine in early 2023, relocated to Jordan after the conflict between Hamas and Israel exploded, and returned to Palestine to wrap its shoot, becoming the only feature filmed in Palestine during the first two years of the ongoing crisis. In all its locations, the natural world is a potent element, the land's beauty and its hiding places well captured; the fine camerawork is credited to three DPs, Hélène Louvart, Sarah Blum and Tim Fleming. Restored and colorized archival footage of Palestine, well integrated into the story by editor Tania Redding, enriches the movie's sense of place. And as the story moves between age-old farm communities and bustling, elegant Jerusalem, production designer Nael Kanj and costume designer Hamada Atallah create a vibrant world that's alive with period detail. At the heart of the narrative, which begins in early 1936, is the village of Al Basma (sometimes called Al Bassa), whose farmers find themselves under siege. Jewish settlers arriving from Europe are confiscating more and more of their land, enabled and protected by the British administrators of the region. Jacir focuses on a handful of villagers and a few of the English. Their interactions are sometimes civil, occasionally friendly, and usually contentious, the British police, military and functionaries talking down to the locals when they aren't outright brutalizing them. Afra (Wardi Eilabouni), a spirited girl of about 12, lives in the village with her widowed mother, Rabab (Yafa Bakri), and resilient, toughened grandparents (Succession's Hiam Abbass and Kamel El Basha). Afra's friend Kareem (Ward Helou), an enterprising cobbler, is learning lessons from his even-tempered father, a priest (Jalal Altawil), in how to endure the colonizers' abuse. Dreaming of wider horizons, Afra is eager for news of Jerusalem, where her twentysomething neighbor Yusuf (Karim Daoud Anaya) travels by train for his job as an assistant to the well-to-do Amir (Dhafer L'Abidine) and his wife, Khuloud (Yasmine Al Massri). She's a modern woman who sometimes likes to wear Amir's fez and trousers in the privacy of their mansion. For her work as a journalist, writing columns supporting the growing revolt against the British Mandate, she must use a male pseudonym if she expects to be read. At the Port of Jaffa, Khalid (Saleh Bakri, a leading Palestinian screen star whose credits include The Teacher as well as Jacir's Wajib and When I Saw You) isn't ready to join the rebellion - until he's beaten for asking for the overtime pay he's earned. Soon he's not merely participating in the general strike that's been called but riding horsebac