A raw, direct, moving, very tightly written, seat-grabber. Excellent acting by all actors involved. Lior Raz's Doron introduces a male hero that has been absent in Hollywood for decades: tough, masculine, courageous, but also compulsive and with a human conscience that clashes with the practical needs of circumstance, very often to the detriment of his personal life. It is the initiatives he takes and the burden of responsibility he carries (often for everyone involved) that make him so attractive and sympathetic to the viewer.
Concerning the always controversial political aspect of the conflict: the fact that it is biased (it is an Israeli production after all) works to its benefit. Who would prefer a sanctimonious pro-Palestinian Israeli production? However, as you immerse yourself in the characters' war-stricken lives, you realize they are all tragic and broken - with no exceptions - trapped in a vicious wheel, which like guinea pigs of fate, are compelled to make it turn.
Concerning the always controversial political aspect of the conflict: the fact that it is biased (it is an Israeli production after all) works to its benefit. Who would prefer a sanctimonious pro-Palestinian Israeli production? However, as you immerse yourself in the characters' war-stricken lives, you realize they are all tragic and broken - with no exceptions - trapped in a vicious wheel, which like guinea pigs of fate, are compelled to make it turn.
