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Festival Films A-ZAvenge But One of My Two EyesProduction Avi Mograbi Camera Philippe Bellaiche Cut Avi Mograbi, Ewa Lenkiewicz Worldsales Les Films du Losange (Nekam achat mishtey eynay)
IL/F 2005, Regie: Avi Mograbi, OmeU, 100 min. Synopsis At the heart of Mograbi's essay is the juxtaposition of two events. The first is the ancient story of the mass suicide of the Zealots at Masada during the Jewish Revolt as a final act of defiance against Rome in the face of inevitable capture. The second is the Biblical text of the emasculated, blinded, and captured Nazirite Samson standing between the main pillars of the temple, imploring God to find the strength to "avenge but one of my two eyes" (a phrase that, coincidentally, is also used in a rallying song by the minority militant, right-wing settlers).The collapsing temple, his final act of suicidal retribution, brings Samson's death - but also the death of more Philistines than he killed during his lifetime. While the film does not inherently equate the defiant act of the Masada with the modern-day act of suicide bombing, the juxtaposition of these two ideas clearly vexed a few people. Rather than directly commenting on suicide bombing as a consequence of the Occupation, the film instead explores the psychology behind the egregious act, laying bare the underlying callous indifference, insensitivity, racism, and uncertainty that the Occupation has introduced into the everyday life of Palestinians. An ambulance carrying a seriously ill woman is physically blockaded by two armoured tanks and repeatedly ordered to go home, and all pleas from the anxious husband and the family meet with the terse response: "I don't care. Go home!" broadcast through a megaphone. A group of farmers who have to cross a checkpoint in order to harvest their olives is refused permission to enter because of military exercises and denied information about a set time at which they can return in order to be admitted entry. A group of young schoolchildren returning from school are refused passage through the checkpoint gates, on the basis of 'military orders' that the soldiers refuse to present. Mograbi's vérité-style filmmaking effectively captures the turbulence, humiliation, and uncertainty of occupation, presenting a thoughtful and incisive call to action for the return of humanity in these increasingly entrenched and inhuman times. Biography The Reconstruction (The Danny Katz Murder Case) (1994), How I Learned To Overcome My Fear and Love Arik Sharon (1997), Happy Birthday Mr. Mograbi (1999), August (2002), Avenge But One of My Two Eyes (2005) Filmography The Reconstruction (The Danny Katz Murder Case) (1994), How I Learned To Overcome My Fear and Love Arik Sharon (1997), Happy Birthday Mr. Mograbi (1999), August (2002), Avenge But One of My Two Eyes (2005) Dates
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