God's Sandbox (Tahara) (2002)

38% of critics liked it
(8 reviews)
60% of users liked it
(64 ratings)

Israeli director Doron Eran attacks the subject of ritual female circumcision in his 2002 film God's Sandbox. Hunting for her runaway daughter Rachel (Orly Perl) in Sinai, well-to-do author Liz (Razia Israeli) finally locates her -- and her daughter's Bedouin boyfriend Mustafa (Sami Samir). Upon… More Israeli director Doron Eran attacks the subject of ritual female circumcision in his 2002 film God's Sandbox. Hunting for her runaway daughter Rachel (Orly Perl) in Sinai, well-to-do author Liz (Razia Israeli) finally locates her -- and her daughter's Bedouin boyfriend Mustafa (Sami Samir). Upon learning of Liz's profession, Mustafa recalls a tale from his youth about a beautiful, liberated woman named Leila (Meital Dohan) who fell in love with a Bedouin's son named Najim (Juliano Merr). Najim's father learns of the romance and the two are forbidden to marry as they had planned. Disregarding his father's and the tribe's decision, Najim and Leila are banished -- but are later tracked down so that Leila can be captured and forcibly circumcised, as custom dictates. Mustafa's tale causes an extreme reaction in Liz and she and her daughter are forced to come to terms with a secret her mother has long kept hidden. God's Sandbox was featured in the "Another View" section at the 2002 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: Doron Eran
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jul 22, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Nov 7, 2006
Studio: Indican Pictures

Critic Reviews

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
God's Sandbox is well-shot and well-filmed, somewhat over-acted, and interesting primarily because it goes so crazily off the rails, both romantically and politically.
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
A fairly well-made film, reasonably directed by Eran, and it is a plea for women's rights as the Middle East gradually transitions from a tradition-bound society to a modern one.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
With his third feature, Eran proves a skilled director of actors but still has much to learn about how to shape a picture and sharpen details that will give his work more clarity and meaning.
Eddie Cockrell, Variety
Plays as much like a sun-baked edition of Red Shoe Diaries gone horribly wrong as the social protest item makers intended.
Ted Shen, Chicago Reader
The lovers' seduction in the sand borders on laughable soft porn.
Marta Barber, Miami Herald
The film falls into a melodramatic and soapy love story that makes you cringe as much as the horrific scenes of the brutal circumcision.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
This purplishly written and amateurishly acted piece makes a mockery of Arab-Israeli relations by using them as a basis for exotic eroticism.
Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly
Eran doesn't seem to know, or care much, whether he's making feminist agitprop or softcore porn. The two don't mix well.

Read all 8 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Leo L

An interesting story plot that follows a young, carefree woman's misadventure in the desert until her mother comes searching for her. Trying to understand her young, wayward daughter, Liz is bound on getting Rachel to return with her. When a story is told about a young,… More
An interesting story plot that follows a young, carefree woman's misadventure in the desert until her mother comes searching for her. Trying to understand her young, wayward daughter, Liz is bound on getting Rachel to return with her. When a story is told about a young, spontaneous woman named Leila, Rachel learn of a deep, dark secret that her mother has kept for many years. Raiza Israeli, Meital Dohan, Juliano Merr, Orly Perl, and Sami Samir stars.