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States of UnBelonging
by Lynne Sachs
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"Both humanist reverie and implicit cautionary tale."
MORE ABOUT THE FILM
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The core of this haunting meditation on war, land, the Bible, and filmmaking is a portrait of Revital Ohayon, an Israeli filmmaker and mother killed in a terrorist act on a kibbutz near the West Bank. Director Lynne Sachs' journey to discover who Revital is results in this stunning cine-essay on violence, identity, crisis in the Middle East and motherhood. Avoiding easy political polarizations, the film is structured around an exchange of letters between Sachs and her Israeli friend Nir Zats. Together, they reveal Revital's story through her films, news reports, and interviews, culminating in heartbreaking footage of children discussing the violence they've witnessed and an unforgettable visit with Ohayon's grieving family. Without taking sides or casting blame, "States of UnBelonging" becomes a cine-essay on fear and filmmaking, tragedy and transformation, violence and the land of Israel/Palestine.
Appropriate for:
63 minutes • DVD
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REVIEWS "A meditation on fear and filmmaking, tragedy and transformation, violence and the land of Israel. Surprisingly beautiful, like the embattled countryside it depicts. War, creativity, beauty -- it's a depressingly frequent concatenation, but Sachs makes it sing without glorifying death." "A profound meditation about living in an unstable world, with the personal densely blurred with the historical. Sachs has created a challenging, invigorating film-essay that could rank with the multi-layered ruminations of Chris Marker." "Sachs can turn simple ingredients into poetic imagery.Mixing found footage and her own crisp digital imagery with great success, Sachs' sensitivity towards Ohayon, with whom she identifies, results in the kind of layered story you won't find in any newspaper." "So, what is an "experimental documentary?" In this case, it means a film that, rather than posing as an Objective Statement of The Truth from a Noted Authority, attempts to convey the inner experiences of a whole person, with a spirit, a heart, and a mind, as she grapples with some bewildering aspects of the real world. We need more films like this." "A search for a person beyond reach, a meditation on things one cannot know, a moving kaddish for uncertain, dangerous times."
AWARDS / SCREENINGS
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