Salt of This Sea (2008)

Thanks for the memories!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Cogent, well written, well acted, and well directed.Filming was excellent. The film moved in the correct tempo with ample economy and control .Story was of an important matter that is often suppressed.Much more poetic than polemic.Strong female lead and direction was not self-righteously or overbearingly so.Creative and multifaceted script.More than adequate character development.Balanced presentation between societal and personal.Nice lighting.

This kind of pro Palestinian film does an injustice to the people of Israel, both Jews and Arabs. A filmmaker that does not show balance but rather a one-sided misinterpretation of facts, framing Israel in a binary of Jews = oppressors; Palestinians = innocents.I note that the director states this film was shot in 'Palestine.' Actually, it was Israel, so even this states an untruth about its location.If you want to see a fair and balanced representation of Israeli Jews and Arabs struggling with the wars and everyday lives, please see 'Bethlehem'; 'Waltz with Bashir'; 'Room 514' just for starters. At least these movies show Jews and Arabs as flawed human beings with both good and bad traits.So, if Palestine exists, please will the direct of Salt Of This Sea kindly answer the following:1) When was Palestine founded and by whom? 2) What were its borders? 3) What was its capital? 4) What were its major cities? 5) What constituted the basis of its economy? 6) What was its form of government? 7) Can you name at least one Palestinian leader before Arafat? 8) Was Palestine ever recognised by a country whose existence, at that time or now, leaves no room for interpretation? 9) What was the language of the country of Palestine ? 10) What was the prevalent religion of the country of Palestine ? 11) What was the name of its currency? Choose any date in history and tell what was the approximate exchange rate of the Palestinian monetary unit against the US dollar, German mark, GB pound, Japanese yen, or Chinese yuan on that date. 12) And, finally, since there is no such country today, what caused its demise and when did it occur?

Jacir paints with precise strokes, each hue reflecting the truth in a way that entertains and enlightens. She creates a virtual travelogue of dispossession in the form of an outrage wrapped in a tragedy; paradoxically revealed in a beautiful film. It takes us beyond the fair and balanced view of history that each side has a point and reminds us that we are all on the same side and that is the only point that matters. The film forces us to see what is plain and in doing so makes clear the choices we make and the consequences of those choices. We are the central characters in this human drama.The film unfolds easily in a style that is both free and rebellious, through the reflection of a bruised and suffocated Palestine. The courage of the heroine, her unwavering strength, faith and rejection of injustice mark a path where everything is but difficult and her refusal to bury her dreams contrast starkly with the reality imposed on the characters. Salt of the Sea is a deeply layered film, a film that is quasi-militant and seeped in passion, but devoid of hatred of any kind. Salt of the Sea has proved to be a great discovery, a film that is both courageous and necessary. And as a bonus, a sublime find: Suheir Hammad - both beautiful and vibrant as she moves through a variety of emotions.Salt of This Sea compels us to make a choice between the cold comfort of indifference or the knowledge that we can make a difference. The turnstiles were installed by us in the land and in our hearts. Salt of This Sea reminds us that we have the power to tear those turnstiles down.

Cinema, in my eyes, is an art. The best pieces of art in almost any medium are subjective pieces of work they allow you to understand what the artist's feelings, emotion, messages etc. are. However when inducing politics into art one should be very objective. It is impossible to set out a rational film on a political issue if the movie is made in a subjective manner. 'Salt of this Sea' is one such movie where a strive has been made to critique a very delicate situation in Isreal/Palestine, however it is done in such a narrow scope, and at times, disgustingly sentimental way. The mere fact that in the movie, the main character feels such a strong connection with a place she has never been before, is almost laughable, as is the demonising of almost all Isreali characters throughout the film. There can be no doubt that some of the plot and events in the film have merit, but there is an overwhelming bias toward one side of a very complex and challenging issue, that it does no justice to history of the story it is trying to tell.