Zaytoun (2012)

Beirut, 1982: a young Palestinian refugee helps an Israeli fighter pilot escape from PLO captivity because he wants to visit his ancestral family home. En route through war-torn Lebanon their relationship develops into a close bond.

Director:

Eran Riklis

Writer:

Nader Rizq

Stars:

Stephen Dorff, Abdallah El Akal, Alice Taglioni

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen Dorff	...	Yoni
Abdallah El Akal	...	Fahed (Ziko)
Alice Taglioni	...	Leclair
Loai Nofi	...	Aboudi (as Loai Noufi)
Tarik Kopty	...	Seedo (as Tarik Copti)
Johnny Arbid	...	Abu Fahed (as Joni Arbid)
Mira Awad	...	Im Ahmed
Eitan Londner	...	Ilan
Morad Hassan	...	Rami (as Morad Hasan)
Ashraf Farah	...	Khalid
Nidal Badarneh	...	Mustafa (as Nidal Badarni)
Adham Abu Aqel	...	Ahmed
Osamah Khoury	...	Hassan
Michel Khoury	...	Ali (as Michil Khoury)
Ali Suliman	...	Syrian Officer

Storyline

Beirut, 1982: a young Palestinian refugee helps an Israeli fighter pilot escape from PLO captivity because he wants to visit his ancestral family home. En route through war-torn Lebanon their relationship develops into a close bond.

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Plot Keywords:

escape | lebanon | pilot | israeli | palestinian | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

While not explicitly stated in the film, the word "zaytoun" is Arabic for "olive", and refers to the tree that Fahed carries.

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Goofs

The number of leaves on the olive tree varies between scenes.

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Soundtracks

The Flirtatious Lyrics
Traditional, arranged by Habib Shadah
Performed by the Habib Shehadeh Hanna Ensemble

User Reviews

Can the wall of hatred by taken down?

Zaytoun (2012) is an Israeli film directed by Eran Riklis. Abdallah El Akal stars as Fahed, a Palestinian adolescent who lives in a camp in Lebanon. The American Actor Stephen Dorff is the Israeli fighter pilot Yoni, who is captured by the PLO when his plane is shot down.

The two make common cause when their goals come together. Yoni wants to escape and return to his unit in Israel. Fahed wants Yoni to take him to Palestine. When he gets to Palestine, he wants to plant an olive tree that the family has kept alive in the hope that they can return to their home and replant it.

The basic plot is not new. We saw it over 50 years ago when Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis starred in the 1958 movie "The Defiant Ones." Poitier and Curtis--natural enemies--are literally chained together. El Akal and Dorff are symbolically chained together, but the concept is the same. Can two people from different camps, who dislike and distrust each other, work together to achieve something important to both of them? Can the wall of hatred that separates them be weakened or even taken down?

Although the plot isn't new, the movie is still spellbinding. The actors are both excellent, and the settings look and feel real. The story requires some suspension of disbelief, but the gritty, authentic atmosphere, as well as the interaction between the pilot and the boy, worked for me.

We saw this movie at the Little Theatre, as part of the first-rate Rochester Jewish Film Festival. It will work well enough on DVD, but seeing it on the large screen would be better. For some reason, Zaytoun carries a dismal 6.2 rating on IMDb. This doesn't make sense to me--it's a much better film than that. Find it and see it!

Details

Country:

UK Israel France

Language:

English Arabic Hebrew

Release Date:

20 September 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Zaytoun

Filming Locations:

Haifa, Israel

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,100, 22 September 2013

Gross USA:

$42,330

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$177,753

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bedlam Productions, Far Films, H.W. Buffalo & Co

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1