O Jerusalem (the book) is a well-know non-fiction account of the events surrounding Israel's creation and the accompanying Arab-Jewish war. It tells the story from the viewpoint of numerous Jewish and Arab participants in the events.
A movie adaptation needs to cut things down to size, and this film creates two composite characters, one Arab and one Jewish, whose friendship pre-dates the political and military showdown of 1947-48. As events unfold around them, they are both forced to take sides. However, their paths still intersect and they cannot totally shake their bonds of friendship.
This simplification of a complex narrative cuts a lot of corners, and sometimes the sequence of events (e.g., UN partition plan, various battles) are unclear to viewers who do not know the history well. In addition, the dialogue can get corny at times.
However, for those interested in the history of modern Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict, this movie provide some useful (yet incomplete) historical context in a decent dramatic package.
A movie adaptation needs to cut things down to size, and this film creates two composite characters, one Arab and one Jewish, whose friendship pre-dates the political and military showdown of 1947-48. As events unfold around them, they are both forced to take sides. However, their paths still intersect and they cannot totally shake their bonds of friendship.
This simplification of a complex narrative cuts a lot of corners, and sometimes the sequence of events (e.g., UN partition plan, various battles) are unclear to viewers who do not know the history well. In addition, the dialogue can get corny at times.
However, for those interested in the history of modern Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict, this movie provide some useful (yet incomplete) historical context in a decent dramatic package.