Private (2004)

A Palestinian family is trapped inside a house commandeered by Israeli soldiers.

Director:

Saverio Costanzo

Writers:

Camilla Costanzo, Saverio Costanzo,

Stars:

Mohammed Bakri, Lior Miller, Hend Ayoub

8 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Mohammed Bakri	...	Mohammad B.
Lior Miller	...	Commander Ofer
Hend Ayoub	...	Mariam B.
Tomer Russo	...	Private Eial
Areen Omari	...	Samiah B.
Marco Alsaying	...	Jamal B.
Sara Hamzeh	...	Sarah B.
Karem Emad Hassan Aly	...	Karem B.
Amir Hasayen	...	Amir B.
Niv Shafir	...	Private Dan
Sahar Lachmy	...	Private Ariel

Storyline

A Palestinian family with five children lives outside town, near Israeli settlements. Samia, the wife, wants to leave; so does one teen son. Mohammad, the patriarch, is adamant that he is staying. Two of his adolescent children want to fight. His is the passive aggression of non-violent witness. Israeli soldiers burst into the home, taking over the second floor. At night, the family is locked in the living room. We see the effects of the occupation on the children and on the marriage. Through the eyes of Miriam, the older daughter, we watch the soldiers from her hiding place. Jamal, the eldest son, sets a trap with a grenade. Characters call upon Allah. Chaos and death are close.

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Plot Keywords:

israeli | soldier | israeli soldier | palestinian | patriarch | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Distributor site Official site

Country:

Italy

Language:

Arabic English Hebrew

Release Date:

14 January 2005 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Domicilio privado

Filming Locations:

Riace, Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,903 (USA) (2 December 2005)

Gross:

$9,623 (USA) (2 December 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Istituto Luce, Offside, Cydonia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 125 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was chosen by Italy to represent the nation for the Accademy Award best foreign movie. The Accademy refused the movie because was not performed in Italian.

User Reviews

One of the most realistic movies on the conflict I have ever seen

This is one of the most true, accurate, and realistic movies on the conflict I have ever seen. I have been to Palestine several times in my life, and also know a family who lives in Palestine who actually had this home occupation happen to them in real life. I can say from first hand experience that this film does an incredibly good job with re-recreating the atmosphere life when ones home is occupied by Israeli's soldiers, which believe it or not is a very common thing for many Palestinian families.

The acting is brilliant, and I was truly impressed with how simple, yet powerful the film was. For anyone who would like to TRULY understand the Israeli Palestinian conflict, this film is a must see. It is not a two sided situation like the Israeli revisionists like to make it out to be. It is a one sided situation with the Palestinians being the unfortunate victims of a 60 year military occupation. The Israeli government is one of the most oppressive governments ever to exist, and is easily comparable with the Nazi government and their military occupation of France, which was also a one sided situation with the Jews being the unfortunate victims of the horrific atrocities of the Nazi Regime.

Please do not listen to the folks who erroneously propagate that Israel is the victim. Such people, even though perhaps well intentioned, are in manifest error and probably never even been to Palestine, let alone live there, and this film demonstrates with pin point accuracy the stress that 95% of Palestinian families will go through.