The Attack (2013)

just watch it!

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The medium line is often difficult to walk. To me "the attack" is about a man trying to walk this line of truth without falling on any side of hatred and narrow minded feelings of bigotism or revenge. Thus the theme of this movie is central to our time.It shows religious fanaticism with a human side, not to undermine it, not to excuse it; but to show us it's true origins...between a desperate sense of meaning for one's one life, communitarian reverence of heroism, but also those moment of doubt that are well depicted in the movie (ex! last calling scene).If, as the Doctor says,"those things are beyond us ", it just really leaves us with the question of how to put them behind. This being said, the plot is halting a bit. The last scene, about departure and sadness, also fails to capture the movies core. Thus good, but not parsimonious and focused enough to make it the great masterpiece it could rightfully have had a claim to.

While the movie presents in general an unbiased and, for the most part balanced, view of the mutual Israeli - Palestinian misunderstandings, for lack of a better word, I feel that at least on one occasion the director missed to give a counterargument to an obviously fanatic Palestinian religious priest figure's assertion to the effect that the Jews do not belong in "their" territory. Nevertheless, the director does a masterful work in depicting the deep and troublesome moral issues faced by those brave individuals who attempt to bridge the chasm dividing the two "adversaries". The photography and acting are outstanding to say the least.However, it is most unfortunate, if not morally criminal, for the Arab League, I believe, to ban this movie on the absurd grounds that it was filmed in Israel, and not in "Palestine". This action just adds further insult to injury.

One of the most disappointing films we've ever seen. The audience walked out puzzled and bothered.How could you take a magnificent cast of actors, give them a wonderful script, and then screw it up so badly?!I personally think the film could be used as a recruitment film for terrorists on both sides of the conflict. The world doesn't need more of that!I do not want to include a spoiler. Suffice it to say it was a wasted evening.One note: There is a scene about a "Jenin massacre", which never happened and was so blatantly false that it was immediately repudiated in most of the world press. I guess lower standards in some parts of the world can keep a lie going eternally.

Having said as much in my comment's title, as a film THE ATTACK is almost perfectly done. To say the it never drags for a second is understating it's compelling drama and story telling. To say it's artfully shot, scripted and directed becomes almost unappreciated and taken for granted in light of the movies' other attributes. To say the actors are magnificent makes one wonder how come many viewers have probably never seen any of them perform before. So intriguing and intense is the work that captivating suspense is almost a by-product. Putting all of the above together would make an Oscar-worthy film if the subject matter was aliens or teen love. But the subject matter is the contemporary Middle East tragedy. Such roughly parallels the lives of the USA's baby-boom generation and tends to become invisible by, ironically, the groaning decades of conflicts, bombings and hatred blurring into episodes with interchangeable parts. For my 17 year old son sitting next to me, I truly hope THE ATTACK served as a primer on the horror and tragedy of the Middle East today. Certainly the film must instantly be recognized as a must- see not just about the Israel-Palestinian conflict but religious and cultural dogma in general. Presently the film sits in my mind for many reasons, one being as a twisted bookend to EXODUS, which I first watched almost a half-century ago. If you're a serious film buff, don't miss this work!