Promised Land (2004/II)

Director:

Amos Gitai

Writers:

Amos Gitai (writer)
Marie-Jose Sanselme (writer)

Release Date:

21 October 2004 (Israel)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

"Promised Land" tells the story of a group of young unwitting Estonian girls smuggled through Egypt to be auctioned off as prostitutes in Israel...

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Rosamund Pike	...	Rose
Diana Bespechni	...	Diana
Hanna Schygulla	...	Hanna
Anne Parillaud	...	Anne
Alla An	...	Alla
Kristina Likhnyski	...	Kristina
Katya Drabkin	...	Katya
Yussuf Abu-Warda	...	Yussuf
Amos Lavi	...	Hezi
Shalva Ben-Moshe	...	Igor
Craig Bachins	...	Greg
Meital Peretz	...	Meital
Menachem Lang	...	Menahem
Ran Kauchinsky	...	Rani
Peeter Polluveer	...	Peeter

Also Known As:

Ha-Aretz Hamuvtachat (Israel: Hebrew title)
Terre promise (France)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

Israel | France | UK

Language:

Arabic | Hebrew | Russian | English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Company:

Agav Hafakot

Trivia:

Director Amos Gitai said in an interview that he convinced the cast and crew to literally camp out in the desert where the opening sequences were shot. This began because he was tired of the long daily commute from the location to Tel Aviv, but he believes that the fact that most of them agreed to join him, living in tents without running water for days, added to the gritty realism of these scenes, because the actresses were just as unwashed and uncomfortable as their characters.

A great, gut-wrenching film that touches on several social issues

It is deeply saddening to realise how misinterpreted this film is by several users. This is one of the greatest works by Gitai thus far. It is obviously about human trafficking and prostitution in Israel; however, there is much more to this film. It tells a story of several Russian women from Estonia that are being trafficked into Egypt and from there, through Gaza strip, into Israel. The style is semi-documentary, which speaks to the reality of the events.

Yet, it seems to me, the message Gitai is sending is not only about the horrors of prostitution in Israel. The subject of female body as a sexual object is in the center of this film. The treatment of women is portrayed in a very bestial and inhumane way. They are traded like cattle, where the highest bidder gets the best animal at an auction. Women are washed with ice-cold water in a group, and then "corrected for" through hasty make-up. The driver that transports women from one "work" spot to another recklessly picks a girl of his choice and rapes her on the road. The scenes are disturbing and made me nauseous on few occasions.

Those who are disappointed about the lack of script or bad acting should look into some documentaries and literature on human trafficking. These are real events that are happening as we speak; to make them more plausible to the viewer or to assign a Hollywood-style script would do no justice to women being trafficked. This film only complements my knowledge of the subject. Congratulations Amos, it takes a lot of courage and determination to create such a piece.