ThedevilChoose
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
Todd Bearden
Let me start by saying, this could have been a good documentary if it wasn't so biased toward one side and so blatantly anti-Semitic. There were no Jews in this film. Everyone in the film HATED Jews with a passion. They show lots of Palestinians being shot up and stories about being gassed and so on. Every single frame in this film is meant to sway the viewer toward the Palestinian side. I don't know how anyone could watch this and think it represents any truth at all. See, the funny thing about the Palestinian state is that they don't want you to have both sides of the story. It's just like any other extremist..."there is only one way, one right, one choice." Unfortunate, for this way of thinking is how people are controlled and pacified. Smart people know there are multiple sides and stories. Smart people want to hear all sides of a debate. Smart people don't steal copper when the owner's gun is pointed at them. This movie is very dumb. I only gave it a 2 because it had some nice footage, otherwise it is a 1 and a total waste of time.
larma7
These days, as opposed to a few years back when I was far more invested in political discussion, I now am fairly apathetic in political discourse, which is ironic since now I can actually vote. But if there are two issues which I really try not to talk about it is 1) abortion, which is the same old round-about "conversation" which never, ever goes anywhere, and 2) the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in the Middle East. I try to avoid talking about the latter because, seemingly more than any other issue, it feels almost impossible for me to find any kind of coherent truth about this bleak and terrible conflict. My heart lies with the Palestinians, but it seems depending on who I talk to on a certain day, my position could change instantaneously. Obviously, it would help if I actually properly researched the situation, but admittedly it's much easier to just say, screw it, let them kill each other! Anyway, I had previously watched James Longley's "Iraq in Fragments", his Malick-esque, slice of life look at the Sunni, Shia, and Kurd civil war in the after-math of the US invasion, a beautifully stunning documentary, which merely allows the every-day people of the country to speak, and it helps paint a picture of the true heart of the conflict. I don't look at his previous film, "Gaza Strip", as some kind of educational tool to teach me the "truth" of the nasty, bitter conflict in Israel, and I think the mistake by many is viewing the film in such a context because I don't think that's the goal of the film. What you get here is an arresting account of the conflict in the streets of Gaza with the Palestinian people, following the children as they get shot at by Israeli soldiers, and listening them speak their minds about their life and dreams in a hopeless situation seemingly only filled with horror stories. Like "Iraq in Fragments", Longley is wise to keep his presence at a distance, with no narration or studio interviews. All the action is told in the heat of the moment, the camera rushes into danger and stays close for the intimate moments. I would probably call this a more urgent film than "Iraq in Fragments", as it doesn't carry with it the same slow, tranquil rhythm, but it still has its moments of being rather hypnotic, and it is overall a well-made film. It's a bit one-note and if you come to this film wanting to see a picture of both-sides, something which I perhaps would have liked, then you will be disappointed. "Gaza Strip" simply offers a unique, up close and personal account of the conflict from the Palestinian side. It's a good film, but a more full picture of the conflict could have made it a great one
thestudiollc
Is an Arabic documentary about a 4-mile wide beach strip that Arabian people have refuge to from the Jews in Iseral. It is a ghetto of Isearal. The population is around 1.5 million people jammed together. The main character is a child in the film was 13 years old he is uneducated and almost homeless. He lives with his father who is never seen, mother, who is worn with age. The whole lot of people in the film in one word or another said they live in hell wanting peace but they fight for peace like throwing stone and rock and the Jews with gun. And then wander why they shot at them. I agree that it is hell on earth but the film had no continues point to the film just filming what the director could film there. Unfortunately, the story had no scripting narration to give the viewer sympathetic feeling to the people in the situation. The people are full of hate stating they' hate American for not helping' or aggravating people with guns. Luckily, from a director's standpoint, I looked at this film as what not to do. The reason why is the idea of the film was lost in just showing the audience the 'wow effect' of dead and destruction in Gaza. The technical aspect of this documentary is limited but considering bullets were flying nearby made the creative juices not to flow. First, the camera footage is shot like actualities. Most are hand-held standing or walking shots. There were very few shot giving the screen depth. Like using foreground and background. I thought it looks like unused news footage but that's my opinion.
sonialena
This is an excellent documentary. The mainstream American media's portrayal of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is extremely biased in favor of Israel. Too often we only see Palestinians as terrorists and do not see the atrocities that Israel commits against the Palestinians. American citizens need to know what we are supporting when we give Israel billions of dollars every year, and I think this documentary is an important step in that process. The documentary's theme of the way children are affected by war will move anyone, regardless of their stance on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
