Areen Omari, Hend Ayoub, Lior Miller, Marco Alsaying, Mohammed Bakri ...( see more  see more... ) , Tomer Russo

Mohammad, his wife and their five children live in a large, isolated house located halfway between a Palestinian village and an Israeli settlement. The house, in the crossfire of the two sides, is a s...( read more  read more... )trategic lookout point that the Israeli army decides to seize, confining the family to a few downstairs rooms in daytime and a single room at night. Mohammad refuses to leave his home and, reinforced by his principles against violence, decides to find a way to keep his family together in the house until the Israeli soldiers move on.

Flixster Users

74% liked it

2,108 ratings

Critics

80% liked it

30 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Saverio Costanzo

Release Date: November 18, 2005

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DVD Release Date: June 6, 2006

Stats: 53 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (53)


  • February 25, 2009
    The film primarily portrays the Palestinian family's struggle to cope and react to imprisonment within their own home. The focus of the film is the dignified non-violent stoic path, or steadfastness (known as sumud in Arabic), advocated by the father and the struggle he faces to ...( read more)convince his family to follow the same strategy. When the soldiers demolish the greenhouse, the father's reaction is: "if they destroy it, then we rebuild it; if they destroy again, we rebuild it again." The mother urges her husband, for the family's sake, to take them all elsewhere; and, the elder teenage son considers confronting the soldiers by violent means; and although the elder daughter has an opportunity to study abroad, she too seeks to stay and confront the soldiers. The whole family burns with rage inside at the constant humiliation and brutality dispensed by the soldiers. Eventually the father's nonviolent resistance prevails and his children seem to follow his example.

    The Israeli soldiers are portrayed as a bunch of ordinary people commanded by an officer with a penchant for brutality. The soldiers are victims of circumstance, and eventually the officer is portrayed as someone who grudgingly follows orders. The film shows some of the soldiers' petty interactions on the top floor, and thereby seeks to highlight their humanity -- "they are just like us".
  • January 19, 2009
    Gran film, coraggioso, pieno di tensione e girato molto bene. Da vedere, una piccola perla.
  • February 19, 2008
    George recommends, but says it's difficult to watch.
  • April 9, 2007
    ain't seen it just thought it sounded good
  • January 21, 2007
    this is such a sad movie in the end you understand that palestinians take soo much
  • December 11, 2006
    Yeah, i'd like to see this, i think!
  • November 8, 2006
    Sounds interesting to me...
  • October 27, 2006
    Aquí se siente la guerra de cerquita, se vive la esperanza en Palestina y la inasión que nunca cesa. La casa como metáfora de un país en guerra.

Critic Reviews


November 18, 2005
Kyle Smith, New York Post

The Palestinian characters are so thinly conceived that they might as well be named Victims One through Seven, and they're far more developed than the Israeli characters. full review

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