Why no one thought before to try the approach employed by the makers of "Promises" is anyone's guess.
After all, the easiest way to explain and do justice to a rather complex, divisive subject is to examine it from the perspectives of those who are most affected by it.
In this case, it's taking a look at the continual Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, as seen through the eyes of children stuck in the middle. The resulting documentary has real weight and vividness that endless hours of international news reports can't even come close to matching.
Consequently, "Promises" is one film that's truly deserving of its Oscar nomination (in fact, given the timeliness of the subject, it's hard to understand how the movie could have possibly lost to the French film "Un-
Coupable Ideal.")
Narrator and interviewer B.Z. Goldberg — a former Israeli journalist — follows seven children, Israeli and Palestinian, over the course of five years, chronicling their feelings about the temporary cease-fire between their warring people in 1995, and as hostilities begin anew years later.
Though they're separated by a few miles at best, they couldn't be further apart. There are Yarko and Daniel, twin brothers who are at least as afraid of some of their fellow Jews as they are of Palestinians (their family is very secular). On the other hand, Shlomo and his extremely orthodox Jewish family back the actions of the Israeli government.
Then there's Mahmoud, whose personal experiences have led him to support aggressive actions by Hamas and Sanabel, while Sanabel remains optimistic, despite mounting evidence that things are about to get worse.
But perhaps the most emotionally resonant storyline is the tale of Faraj, whose family simply wishes to return to its ancestral home. (If you're not at least a little choked up in the scene where Faraj, Sanabel and the twins come face-to-face and share their experiences, you might want to have your heart checked out.)
Admittedly, the film is extremely talk-heavy, and there are a couple times when the filmmakers seem to get sidetracked by things that are not really pertinent to the subject at hand. But all of the children have compelling stories to tell, and the easy rapport between them and Goldberg (who co-directed the film with Justine Shapiro and Carlos Bolado) is evident.
"Promises" is not rated but would probably receive a PG for violence (brief scenes of warfare in newsreel footage) and for discussion of ideological differences. Running time: 102 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com