Visitors Review

(2012-05-22 17:47)

The side of the story the US media doesn't tell

This movie needed to be made to tell the other side of thePalestinian/Israeli conflict, the side the media doesn't usually tell.I lived in Jordan for a year and traveled to Israel and had my eyesopened to the plight of the Palestinians. Nothing in this film came asa surprise to me and most of the conditions depicted I already knewabout.Sure the film is biased, and doesn't focus on terrorist attacks byPalestinian groups, but we get that in the news all the time. It alsodoesn't touch on the fact that homosexuality is forbidden in most(all?) Islamic countries. Since the film shows the Palestiniancondition on a very personal level, it also leaves out some littletidbits like how Israel recruits Jewish people from other countries tocome and populate the settlements that are on Palestinian land as asecurity tactic.In this day and age it seems like it is considered anti-semitic to beagainst the actions of the Israeli government/military, so I am hopingthe fact that this film was made by a Jewish person and had Jewishpeople as the main characters will help allow its message to be heard.

silas10961 (2012-05-22 05:30)

New Insights

Zero Degrees of Separation takes viewers into the most unique ofcircumstances through four individuals, all straddling an impossiblydifficult cultural/political setting in which their relationshipsexist. The toll of occupation becomes vivid for those not familiar withthe day to day life in this region. The film uses the relationships asa point of departure for insights into the country. It has been remarked that the film is biased because it does not focuson bombings or the great ethnic diversity in Israel. Bombings are partof the climate in which the stories of these individuals take place. Itis assumed one knows that. There are a multitude of references, director indirect to diversity. Ezra, the 50 year old plumber and partner ofSelim, is mizarachim (Middle Eastern Jews, in his case originally fromIraq). Edit is originally from Argentina. And on it goes, as anyone whohas been to Israel knows, it is one of the most ethnically diversecountries in the world, a nation of of immigrants. For me, the film also underscores the nature of activism in such acountry. It seems second nature. Governments and leaders are morereadily acknowledged as fallible and that action and change lies in thehands of the people.