Film: Budrus

Film again today. The next film on my list actually jumped in rating since I listed it - so I watched Budrus, on Reel Palestine again. This is the true story of how a village mobilised people from all factions to prevent the Israeli army building a wall through the middle of it - which would, incidentally, destroy their olive groves. Only became a feasible protest when the women got involved, it turns out!

I see that U.S. viewers have to pay - for me, all I had to do to stream for free was subscribe to the Just Vision mailing list. Fine, I can unsubscribe if it gets annoying. Starts out with a great soundtrack and some beautiful footage. This isn't really an easy watch though, as the army moves in and things deteriorate. It is good that the film interviews both sides - I actually couldn't believe what I was hearing, with the Israeli captain saying that their prime objective was to protect Israeli civilians. Israeli. As if there's a difference. Later, the protests attract left-wing Israeli activists - the army is quoted as saying that they are not allowed to use force against Israelis. No, but they can fire rubber bullets and tear gas, and use batons, on the Palestinians..

The other Israeli soldier interviewed personally is a woman, who gives an interesting perspective - the Palestinian women were shouting at her in particular, saying they could make her a match with their sons! But while she is sorry for the loss of the olive trees, she is ultimately unsympathetic, saying that if that's what needs to be done, it needs to be done. And I don't blame the soldiers - they were doing as they were told.

The protests ultimately attract massive international support - including a South African anti-apartheid group, who travelled all that way to tell them that the best solution was for everyone to live together. The scenes towards the end are disturbing, as violence breaks out - as someone says, these are nonviolent protests, but when the army provokes people that far, some will start to throw stones. And to be fair, there are always idiots who think that's the way to solve things. That, combined with the international attention, forces the government's hand - and, despite the intransigent deputy defence minister who's interviewed about it on the news, the villagers get their way - the wall is still built, but no longer through their olive groves, or the cemetery. I had to laugh when the captain came on again to say that well, people will say that's because of the protests, but it was a political decision..

Tomorrow, on Meetup, Experience London Events, Concerts & Parties is streaming a concert from the U.S. However, they have the wrong time on it - it's obviously happening later in the day here, so it's happening at 10pm rather than 10am, as advertised. So, not feasible for me. And London Social Detours is on in the evening, unusually - so I have to resort to film again. The next on my list is a comedy short from Buster Keaton called The Goat - and interestingly, is on a new platform for me! Findable on the Internet Archive..