Three weeks in Jerusalem
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Three weeks in Jerusalem |
| Original title | Lahav Hatzui |
| Country of production | USA , Israel |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1993 |
| length | 81 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Amos Kollek |
| script | Amos Kollek |
| production | Amos Kollek, Rafi Reibenbach |
| music | Arik Rudich, Mira J. Spektor |
| camera | Amnon Salomon |
| cut | Vicki Hiatt |
| occupation | |
| |
Three Weeks in Jerusalem (original title: Lahav Hatzui ) is a feature film from 1993. It was made as a US-Israeli co-production, directed by Amos Kolleks , who also wrote the script. It is a political thriller with documentary elements.
action
The film begins with a woman picking up a hitchhiker who is a soldier and now wants to go home. The woman, Faye Milano, is an American journalist and was sent to Jerusalem by her newspaper to cover the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation there for three weeks. When the hitchhiker starts making advances to the journalist in the course of the conversation, as he has not spoken to a woman for a long time since his military service, she promptly lets him get out.
At the beginning Faye is pro-Palestinian as she thinks that the Palestinians are the victims of the conflict. She feels confirmed in her assumption when she later witnesses Israeli police officers beating young Palestinian children. When a girl escapes the soldiers, Faye tries to help her, but the girl just spits in her face and runs away. Faye succeeds in taking pictures for a report of the violent actions of the Israeli police. In a bar she tries to establish contacts that are necessary for her research. Here she suddenly meets the hitchhiker and learns that he is the nephew of the mayor of Jerusalem and that his name is David.
When she heard of an incident in which a Palestinian boy was shot by Israelis, she tried, with the help of Moshe, to get in touch with the relatives to report. In the conversation, Schafik, the victim's father, said that an Israeli woman had been looking for a donor for a heart transplant and that his son, who was dying, was the only potential donor. When the doctors called and asked for permission, Mustafa, his eldest nephew, answered the phone and refused the request, which Schafik allegedly did not do. As a result, Faye gains sympathy for the Palestinians . The report is not explosive enough for the editor. The reporter then tried an interview with the mayor of Jerusalem, which David arranged, but this also turned out to be not sensational enough. However, the report about the Israeli police officers who beat little Palestinian girls is a direct hit, but this also has negative consequences.
The Israeli military censorship now demands that all reports must be presented first before they can be made public. Now the journalist learns that Schafik is an important leader of the Intifada and is therefore being deported to Lebanon . She can hardly believe it, as he was very warmly welcomed and entertained when she conducted the interview with him. During a visit, she even witnessed Mustafa, who is also an important leader of the Intifada, being led away by Israeli soldiers. Her feelings for the two exponents of the hostile groups and her understanding of their attitude plunged the reporter into an inner conflict. She no longer knows who to believe and who is really the victim here. In the following interview, a fanatical rabbi explains that he hates the Arabs because they want his country. In Nablus, Faye witnesses how Arab children attack Israeli soldiers, but the soldiers do not defend themselves and are only driven out by an American Jew. Here she also witnessed Israelis blowing up a Palestinian house because a family member had ties to the Intifada. Because Faye had brought pictures of Mustafa's removal to the public, a soldier who is holding the gun to Mustafa's head in the photo is being killed by Palestinians.
The military censorship is now withdrawing Faye's press card because it has not complied with the requirements. The journalist now learns of an attack in which a bus was attacked by Arabs and a mother and three children were killed. In response, some Palestinians were brutally beaten by Israelis. She also learns about a little Palestinian boy who was allegedly seriously injured by Israeli soldiers and is now dying. She manages to get a picture of the boy. With David's help, she can meet Mustafa again. On the way, David tells that Israel was innocent in the past and that people were ready to die for this country, now times have changed. Faye learns from Mustafa that Schafik was betrayed and killed while attempting to secretly return from his exile . Faye is slowly gaining sympathy for the Palestinians. At the end of the conversation, Mustafa urges her to deliver a note to someone. Faye realizes too late that Mustafa had abused her to kill a deserter . Faye is shocked and wants to leave Israel immediately.
In the editorial office she learns that the Palestinian boy from the hospital was not injured by Israeli soldiers, but suffered a burn injury and was then flown to the hospital. She realizes that she was deliberately provided with incorrect information, but it is no longer possible to correct the article because the newspaper is already in print. David visits Faye and says that she is different from any women he knows. When she went on a trip with him, a tire suddenly broke and had to be exchanged. In the meantime, Faye takes pictures of David's daughter. A Palestinian boy comes and wants to swap David's daughter's cuddly toy for his old football, but his wish is not granted. David's daughter now has an urgent need and wants to relieve herself. Her father goes away with her while Faye waits alone in the car. A short time later, Arab children appear with the boy who wanted to swap his football and begin to riot at the car. Faye doesn't show anything and tries to ignore the threatening gestures of the children and young people. But when her camera is stolen from her and all attempts at communication fail, she becomes scared. The youth riots are increasing. Faye can only watch how the outside of the car is being worked on with stones and sticks. She remembers seeing a pistol in David's glove compartment. Faye picks up the gun and gets out of the car. A youngster stands up from the car with a boulder in his hand and is about to throw it at Faye. The latter recognizes the precarious situation and aims the gun at the Palestinian. At this point the film ends.
Reviews
"Amos Kollek [...] wrote and staged 'Three Weeks in Jerusalem', a realistic political thriller, a cinematic convincing and exciting plea for the statehood of Palestine and peace between Arabs and Israelis on the basis of mutual recognition under international law."
"The low-budget production was cleverly made 'on location', and the director's decision to forego tension clichés and to have the most violent scenes played in an idyllic, sun-drenched setting was just as smart."
Web links
- Three weeks in Jerusalem in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Prisma Online film review
- ↑ quoted in the film review by Prisma Online