Israel and its leaders are upset over a Netflix movie that shows Israeli forces killing a Palestinian family. The critically acclaimed movie, titled ‘Farha,’ is Jordanian director Darin Sallam’s first major motion picture.
It tells the tale of the 1948 war between the forces of the newly established State of Israel and a loose confederation of neighbouring Arab nations from the viewpoint of a 14-year-old girl living in a small Palestinian village.
According to reports, a distressing sequence in the movie depicts Israeli soldiers killing a Palestinian family in its whole, including a baby who is just one year old. Not only ordinary Israelis, many of whom, if Twitter is any indicator, have cancelled their Netflix subscriptions, and the government has also expressed outrage over the scene.
Israel’s finance minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said in a statement, ‘It’s crazy that Netflix decided to stream a movie whose whole purpose is to create a false pretence and incite against Israeli soldiers.’ He added that he will withdraw funding from a Jaffa theatre that screened the film.
Israel’s culture minister, Hili Tropper, alleged that the film depicts ‘lies and libels’ and that screening it in an Israeli theatre was a ‘disgrace.’
Meanwhile, ‘Farha’ has received a positive critical response. Screen International’s Wendy Ide wrote, ‘The use of sound is particularly effective in evoking the airless oppressive quality of Farha’s hiding place, and the relentless attrition of the certainties of her life.’
The long-festering conflict between Israel and Palestine, which has marked untold bloodshed and loss on both sides in more than seven decades, has made the region one of the global flashpoints. The less-than-flattering portrayal of Israeli forces or Israel in films, whether Palestine or not, usually invites sharp reactions in Israel.
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