SoftInloveRox Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

sulaco-11 The one thing this movie demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt is that Gaza is an excruciating place in which to live. But this movie should not be taken as a balanced or complete assessment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Israelis have no representative in this film, and they remain faceless the whole time. That's okay...it's clear the film isn't meant to show both sides. Clearly the images in this film will arouse sympathy. But this film is as notable for what it omits as it is for what it shows.There is firing through the whole movie, although it is unclear who is firing at whom or why. The assumption is that it is the Israelis, firing for no particularly good reason, or because they are simply cruel. A child is blown up by a booby trap he finds after crawling through the border fence. The assumption is that it the Israelis left it, but couldn't it have just as easily been left by a Palestinian militant? A squalid Palestinian emergency room fills with male victims. Were they civilians callously gunned down by the Israelis? Or were they combatants firing on Israelis, or maybe even just victims of an innocent car crash? And how come they weren't taken to an Israeli hospital, which in spite of the violence remain available to Palestinians, are often closer than Palestinian hospitals and always offer superior care? Dozens of Palestinians wind up in the hospital with strange symptoms after being exposed to what the Israeli troops say is tear gas. The assumption is that it was poison gas, but if that was true, wouldn't all the victims die? An elderly Palestinian woman relates how Israeli troops tried to run her over with a bulldozer, although apparently she isn't so elderly that she can't outrun a bulldozer.What I find the most fascinating about this film is the window it opens onto the Palestinian mind. There is no laughter, no hope, no love of life, no aspiration to build something better. It's almost as if they can imagine no other way to live. I was left wanting to ask so many questions of the Palestinians on the screen. I would ask how much responsibility for their misery would they assign to, say, Arafat, who walked away from a dream offer that would have given the Palestinians a state in 2000, and whose widow lives in Parisian luxury on millions in foreign aid that was meant to improve the Palestinians' quality of life. I would ask how much they blame Barak, who they mock even though he offered peace, or the U.S., whose then-President Clinton convinced Barak to put the offer on the table. To what extent do they blame other Muslim nations, who voice solidarity but refuse to accept them as refugees, and offer little humanitarian help? How much do they blame Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militant groups, who fire at Israeli civilians and soldiers from behind Palestinian human shields? I would ask them if they believe the Israelis have a right to protect their children, and if they think they have the right to, for example, close a road or build a wall to do so. I would ask what, exactly, is preventing them from having their own state. Why haven't they built anything better for themselves, and is that Israel's fault, too? To the boy at the beginning of the film who chooses weapons over food, I would ask if it would be Israel's fault if he starved. And to the Red Cross representative who at the end of the film helpfully points out that Israel's settlements are illegal under the Geneva Convention, I would ask what the Geneva Convention has to say about the targeting of innocent noncombatants, as has become the hallmark of Palestinians' many violent advocates.Clearly this movie begs many more questions than it answers.Some of these questions, perhaps, can be answered by the short film Pallywood. (http://www.seconddraft.org/cur_invest.php) It is this film's ideal companion piece.

sorek This is not a documentary,but propaganda,pure and simple.There is no mention of another point of view,the other side is only an amorphous "jews"(so much for accuracy). Had this been a theater review it would start in act three or four and leave you in the dark as to what happened in the first acts. For reasons known to the maker of this leftist propaganda piece,the focus is on children,surprisingly mixing formal language and vernacular(am I wrong in suspecting that their utterances have been scripted?).Formal language is not used frequently in ordinary talk. Could not the maker of the piece at least pay a lip service to the word documentary and include Israeli casualties?. What we watch here is a coin that is one sided,and we are owed the missing side.

royal99 I had a discussion with the director of this movie not a while ago about other film, "death in Gaza" which I think clearly states his opinion, even before shooting this film, about the middle east conflict, and how I myself view his so called documentary. everyone can understand from this whatever they want. you can find it in: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412631/board/nest/12270140 he start his comments from the middle of the thread.Oh, and by the way, someone here stated in his comments that "There is a huge attempt to smash this film's reputation by writing bad user comments about it -- but check it out: The only kind of reviews "Gaza Strip" gets are either GREAT or "Don't see this film -- it's just lies". Let's see if you can guess who's writing those critical reviews ... could it be ... Zionist supporters of Israeli occupation policy? Hmmm..." well the only thing i can say for this is: 1. if the really bad reviews are from 'zionists supporters' then maybe the really good reviews are from.... .hmm... let me see.... pro Arabs or pro Palestinians maybe. it goes either way guys. the fact is that it doesn't matter if the facts are true or not, this film is not very good by itself. connect to reality. everyone who writes here has political or religious agenda. 2. The fact that you use the word 'zionist' to describe Israeli actions, is ignorant, raciest and just plain dumb. no one here in Israel, and i live here, believes in Zionism anymore. its something of the past, so get over it already. thanks bye

cinematake IF its one thing we know very well is that the Palestinian public knows how to play the victim card very well... they do and say one thing at one time and say and act the opposite in front of a camera. Hey don't get me wrong, i am for a Palestinian state, they even had what they could only dream now back in 2000 where that mass murderer corrupted dictator Arafat ruined the chances for any state and instead made Israeli and Palestinian people suffer deaths after deaths, poverty and despair... but how convenient is to blame the Israelis... well its obviously politically correct these days to favor the underdog... i can make a film about the American army in Iraq and paint the worst picture you can imagine... very believable and very effective to make you agree with my point of view.. but in reality, this wont represent anything close to the true reasons they are there, to save the people of Iraq from a murderous dictator like Sadam that killed masses upon masses.... People, wake up and smell the coffee.. don't buy into all the BS that independent reporters like this guy that is trying to use this conflict for him to win awards or push his propaganda... maybe you can make a documentary about how Israelis are afraid to board the buses or walk within crowded masses of people, how thousands of woman, men, and children are missing arms. legs or severely injured (yes, in Israel, severely injured unfortunately means you are almost dead, missing limbs does not count.. ), visit the hospitals, the streets, the schools... Israel is such a peaceful place, you think you were in the states... Its the only true democracy and civilised country in that area.. imagine if it wasn't there... who would protect the interest of freedom and democracy??? I myself, am not Israeli, as you may think, i am a Canadian Christian UN Soldier that has worked in that area for the past 3 years and still am amazed at the amount of lies, of non-truths that these movies-documentaries like this one , Jenin Jenin (another batch of lies that is completely false and was proved so by the UN, US, EU and the international community)...i see what you don't see and i am just telling it like it is... just look at both sides of the story to truly understand whats going on.