Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

Dotsthavesp I wanted to but couldn't!

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

OneEightNine Media How sad is it that this masterpiece piece of a movie is relatively hidden from the public for purely political reasons? The word is out about what is really happening in Israel and the nearly 70 years of Hell the Palestinian have had to endure. This film does the job of showing the psychological aspects of living in the apartheid war crime capital of the world. And this film teaches you a few things. This film focuses on heroic and strong women having to deal with being born into a tortuous situation, a living Hell on earth. Funny how Israel can not stop stealing land. I literally read an article about the government of Israel green lighting 15 thousand more settlements, I believe that is the third time just this year. And people wonder why Palestinians are so upset. I almost feel sorry for Israel because they will have to answer to a Higher Power for their twisted games. Anyway, I highly recommend this movie because the acting is outstanding and the story is not only true but very inspirational.

perkypops I can understand the resistance to this film but it is undeserved. I watched it with an open mind often transposing the nationality of the many "soldiers" and "activists" in the plot and getting the same impression as the film first hinted to me that there is so little difference between races and cultures for all our attempts to say otherwise. This film is rich in its character building, sensitive to the issues involved, and optimistic in its final passages.It is lovingly told from a character perspective with only slight weaknesses in acting performances throughout. Hiam Abbass (as Hind), Ruba Blal (as Fatima), and Freida Pinto (as Miral) are superb as women who understand just what a political game being termed a terrorist is. The most riveting scene for me is where Miral learns that love and hate have the same roots and is beautifully played out.I really do not want to engage in the politics of the film for it is rare to see a film that understates the causes of unrest and conflict and dares to focus on the extreme hardship produced, be it in Palestine in the late twentieth century or much earlier anywhere in Europe.I don't expect the game to gain popularity points on this website (no fault of IMDb) which is a shame because it stands out as a work of merit. I recommend it wholeheartedly and, were it not for a couple of acting blips, give it a maximum.It is a film that makes you think - and feel.

DICK STEEL Director Julian Schnabel tackles yet another biographical tale after his Diving Bell and the Butterfly, with a focus shifted to the Middle East conflict, but unlike the typical Hollywood production ranging from all out action like The Kingdom to heavier dramatic fare like Syriana, this film, an Indian-Italian-French-Israeli co-production stops short at passing judgement, opting to tread the middle ground in portraying as objective a viewpoint as possible, and does so through the eyes of the titular character Miral (Freida Pinto) being caught up in the scheme of her environment.Curiously, this film is based on the novel by Rula Jebreal, a Palestinian journalist, whose book is an almost biographical account of her growing up and formative years, where she got brought up in an orphanage in Jerusalem established by Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass), whose notable exploits after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War include rescuing orphaned survivors from the Deir Yassin massacre and turning her home into an orphanage. So in essence we get to observe the story of two women caught up in extraordinary circumstances spanning a vast timeline right up to the establishment of the state of Israel and right through to various peace accords that are still trying to bear fruit, and one The narrative is split into two halves, with the first centered on the tale of Hind Husseini, her sacrifice and achieving of her objective, before having the narrative shift toward that of Miral, clearly the poster girl since Freida Pinto's shot to fame in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire might mean a lot more people giving this film a chance. Brought to Husseini's orphanage to be raised, we see the teenager getting awakened to the state of affairs of the land claimed by opposing sides, and getting caught between a rock and a hard place, where Husseini's counsel gets weighed against that of the brush of romance with the militant Hani (Omar Metwally), but of course don't come to expect flitting romantic scenes as the more powerful and thought provoking ones far outweigh affairs of the heart.While the film offered two stories of two independently strong women, somehow it is the lack of a primary central figure that did it in, where it's most unfortunate to have the story quite scattered in its ambitious timeline in trying to condense an extremely complex political situation, no doubt adopting a micro view through the two different perspectives and principles in its leading characters. It sought to contrast viewpoints of those who deem education is the key out of their current plight, against those who wish to stand up and be counted, violence notwithstanding as a means to achieve an end.Perhaps I was anticipating more, but with an ending quite abrupt, it leaves more questions than those answered and addressed, and perhaps so because it's still an open environment with no clear solutions in sight. Like how the characters have seen milestones set in their lifetime, I wonder if we in ours can eventually see something significantly charted out. The end title was a chilling reminder that it will take quite a while.

Jim Beller Run, don't walk, to see this movie. If you miss it while it is in the theaters, put it in your Netflix queue. My wife and I see a lot of movies, independent and mainstream and this is one of the best. Yesterday we saw a mainstream movie, Hanna, which was a major disappointment, except for the excellent acting of Saoirse Ronan. I gave it a 5 because the story was so terrible and I didn't have any emotional involvement concerning what happened to Hanna. We generally don't go to two movies, two days in a row, but I was so disappointed in Hanna and have been interested in possibly seeing Miral since I heard Rula Jebreal on NPR's Tell Me More. She wrote the novel and the screenplay the movie was based on. I was surprised that she received such a chilly reception on the show, so I remembered to check out the movie online.On METACRITIC, which contains reviews by major critics, there were 17 reviews; 3 positive, 12 mixed and 2 negative. Overall it was given a 45 out of 100 which means generally mixed reviews and near the low end of that scale. Keep in mind that Hanna got a 64 which means generally favorable reviews. I read a number of the critic's reviews of Miral as I often do before seeing a movie I also read all of the six reviews available at that time on IMDb. There were only five usable as one was written by a person who, in my opinion, had an agenda and, based on his review, had not seen the movie.Having consulted METACRITIC and IMDb, I was convinced that my wife and I might like this movie, but would probably not rate it above a 6 or 7 out of ten after we saw it. I always keep in mind that there are movies with overwhelming favorable reviews that I have hated, including The Diving Bell and The Butterfly which had the same director, Julian Schnabel, as this movie. Lost in Translation is also in that category.My wife and I came to this movie without prejudice for one side or the other. We were just looking for a well made movie that would entertain us. We were so pleasantly surprised. The acting was excellent, the story involving, and we were quite tense in the last third of the movie. Unlike Hanna, we really cared what happen to Miral.I agree with Spencergo, this movie should be seen by a wider audience, but I know it won't. The reason that this review is so important to me is most people will skip this movie because of the mixed reviews, and they shouldn't. Unfortunately, many independent films, like Rabbit Hole last year, get missed. I sincerely hope you give this movie a try if you can find it at your local independent theater.