Miral (2010)

A drama centered on an orphaned Palestinian girl growing up in the wake of Arab-Israeli war who finds herself drawn into the conflict.

Director:

Julian Schnabel

Writers:

Rula Jebreal (screenplay), Rula Jebreal (novel)

Stars:

Freida Pinto, Hiam Abbass, Willem Dafoe

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hiam Abbass	...	Hind Husseini
Asma Al Shiukhy	...	Woman Wrapping Body
Neemeh Khalil	...	Woman Wrapping Body
Jameel Khoury	...	Brother Amin
Basel Husseini	...	Brother Khalid
Hanna Shammas	...	Husseini Brother
Ibrahim Husseini	...	Husseini Brother
Hazem Said	...	Husseini Brother
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Bertha Spafford
Willem Dafoe	...	Eddie
Makram Khoury	...	Governor Khatib (as Makram J. Khoury)
Wadeeka Khoury	...	Hind's Mother
Virginia Amsis	...	Young Girl at Christmas Party
Ansam Qupti	...	Other Girl at Christmas Party
Fadi Shahen	...	Musician at Christmas Party

Storyline

A drama centered on an orphaned Palestinian girl growing up in the wake of Arab-Israeli war who finds herself drawn into the conflict.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | reference to the rolling stones | multiple time frames | one word title | jerusalem israel | 

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Taglines:

Is this the face of a terrorist?

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violent content including a sexual assault

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Germany]

Country:

France Israel Italy India USA

Language:

English Arabic Hebrew

Release Date:

3 September 2010 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Мирал

Filming Locations:

Israel

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$66,244, 27 March 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$371,352, 15 May 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Weinstein Company, Pathé, Eran Riklis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Miral: My name is Miral Hasna. I was Born in 1973. But my story really begins in 1947 with Hind Husseini.

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.14 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Written by Jerome Kern (as J. Kern) and Otto A. Harbach (as O. Harbach )
interprété par Dinah Washington
© T.B. Harms Co.
(P) 1956 UMG Recordings Inc
Avec l'autorisation de Universal Music Vision

User Reviews

Nice effort but disappointing

I did not know what the movie was about so when it started my first reaction was: "Oh no! not another movie on Jewish suffering!" I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this time the movie was about the Palestinian plight.

Kudos to that I say, nevertheless I found the story confusing. I am a fan of Julian Schnabel's work as director, but I expected more after The Bell-jar and the Butterfly which in my book was a masterpiece.

Miral (not an apt title for the subject matter) takes its time before getting to the main story and protagonist, telling first the tale of 3 other women: Her mother Nadia; Fatima the terrorist; and Hind the school master and surrogate mother to all orphans. Miral's arrival on the scene is almost an afterthought, hinted at by Nadia's vomit attack upon arriving in jail -if she is sickened by fear or by baby is not clear until much later on.

I wished the director let the people speak in Arabic and add subtitles -which were used only in the beginning- it would have made for a less Anglo-centric flavored film and the written text would have allowed the audience to catch important dialog that was otherwise drowned by the soundtrack. What Fatima says to the man who later becomes Nadia's husband, for example, would have explained later events. Same for what was exchanged between Miral and the Intifada member at the funeral, important words muffled in music.

Because of this and the confusing ways of past and present scenes mixing without a clear way to distinguish between them, the storyline of the movie was unclear, and so was its perception similar to walking in the dark, intuiting the outline of things but not getting the full picture.

All actors were good but Hiam Abass who played Hind stood out. Freida Pinto does not look authentic, I read she is of Indian heritage, but her beauty made the distressing story more bearable, if distracting.

Aside from this, it was refreshing to see a movie on this subject matter, produced and directed by major names in the movie industry. To see the Israeli seen as "bad guys" was almost shocking, what with the Jewish propaganda we get out of Hollywood all the time. The world needs to see Palestinian heroes, if nothing else to balance the way Arabs in general are portrayed in the movies. A movie worth seeing if NOT the ultimate picture on the subject.