Miral
Encyclopedia
Miral is a 2010 biographical
political film directed by Julian Schnabel
. The screenplay was written by Rula Jebreal, based on her novel. The film was released on 3 September at the 2010 Venice Film Festival
and on 15 September 2010 in France. The film was set for release on 3 December 2010 in the United Kingdom, and on 25 March 2011 in the United States. Miral was initially rated R by the MPAA
for "some violent content including a sexual assault." Later, however, it was reclassified to PG-13 for "thematic material, and some violent content including a sexual assault" after an appeal of the R rating by the Weinstein Company
.
On April 4, 2011, days after the film's US release, Juliano Merr-Khamis, an actor and peace activist who plays Seikh Saabah in the film, was shot to death in his car outside a theatre he had established in a Palestinian refugee camp.
in Jerusalem after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Deir Yassin Massacre
, and the establishment of the state of Israel
..
Jerusalem, 1948. On her way to work, Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass
) comes across 55 orphaned children in the street. She takes them home to give them food and shelter. Within six months, 55 had grown to almost 2,000, and the Dar Al-Tifel Institute was born.
In 1978, at the age of 7, Miral (Freida Pinto
) was sent to the Institute by her father following her mother's death. Brought up safely inside the Institute's walls, she is naïve to the troubles that surround her. Then, in 1988, at the age of 17, she is assigned to teach at a refugee camp where she is awakened to the reality of the Palestinian refugees. When she falls for Hani, a militant, she finds herself torn between the First Intifada
of her people and Mama Hind's belief that education is the road to peace.
. She's torn between the injustice she sees at the hands of the Israeli army during the first Intifada
and a desire for peace.
Schnabel revealed that the project had relevance for his own family history, figuring that he was a pretty good person to tell the other side of the story, given his background, as an American Jew whose mother was president, in 1948, of the Brooklyn chapter of Hadassah
the Women's Zionist Organisation of America.
Kenneth Morefiled opined that "Miral is an ambitious film, and it may be that Schnabel's reputation has led to unrealistic expectations about what any film can (or should attempt to) accomplish. While it falls short of greatness, it has many admirable qualities".
Sheri Linden of The Los Angeles Times writes, "The lack of a compelling lead figure, combined with Schnabel's tentative approach to the material, casts the film's later stretches in the balmy glow of soap opera
." Justin Chang of Variety
similarly adds, "Schnabel's signature blend of splintered storytelling and sobering humanism feels misapplied to this sweeping multigenerational saga of four Arab women living under Israeli occupation, the youngest of which, Miral, emerges a bland totem of hope rather than a compelling movie subject."
Deborah Young of the Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a political film with a message of hope, on the obvious side,"
Miral was reviewed by Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent
as "choppily edited" and "unevenly performed" but also "courageous" and "groundbreaking."
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
political film directed by Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel is an American artist and filmmaker. In the 1980s, Schnabel received international media attention for his "plate paintings"—large-scale paintings set on broken ceramic plates....
. The screenplay was written by Rula Jebreal, based on her novel. The film was released on 3 September at the 2010 Venice Film Festival
67th Venice International Film Festival
The 67th annual Venice Film Festival held in Venice, Italy, took place from September 1 to September 11, 2010. American film director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino was head of the Jury. John Woo was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement prior to the start of the Festival...
and on 15 September 2010 in France. The film was set for release on 3 December 2010 in the United Kingdom, and on 25 March 2011 in the United States. Miral was initially rated R by the MPAA
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
for "some violent content including a sexual assault." Later, however, it was reclassified to PG-13 for "thematic material, and some violent content including a sexual assault" after an appeal of the R rating by the Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
.
On April 4, 2011, days after the film's US release, Juliano Merr-Khamis, an actor and peace activist who plays Seikh Saabah in the film, was shot to death in his car outside a theatre he had established in a Palestinian refugee camp.
Plot
A chronicle of Hind Husseini's effort to establish an orphanageOrphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
in Jerusalem after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Deir Yassin Massacre
Deir Yassin massacre
The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun Zevai Leumi and Lohamei Herut Israel Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...
, and the establishment of the state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
..
Jerusalem, 1948. On her way to work, Hind Husseini (Hiam Abbass
Hiam Abbass
Hiam Abbass , also known as Hiam Abbas or Hiyam Abbas, is a Palestinian actress and an Arab citizen of Israel. She is known for her roles in the films Satin Rouge , Haifa , Paradise Now , The Syrian Bride , Free Zone , Dawn of the World , The Visitor , Lemon Tree , and Amreeka...
) comes across 55 orphaned children in the street. She takes them home to give them food and shelter. Within six months, 55 had grown to almost 2,000, and the Dar Al-Tifel Institute was born.
In 1978, at the age of 7, Miral (Freida Pinto
Freida Pinto
Freida Pinto is an Indian actress and model best known for her portrayal of Latika in the 2008 Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire, for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture...
) was sent to the Institute by her father following her mother's death. Brought up safely inside the Institute's walls, she is naïve to the troubles that surround her. Then, in 1988, at the age of 17, she is assigned to teach at a refugee camp where she is awakened to the reality of the Palestinian refugees. When she falls for Hani, a militant, she finds herself torn between the First Intifada
First Intifada
The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem....
of her people and Mama Hind's belief that education is the road to peace.
Cast
- Hiam AbbassHiam AbbassHiam Abbass , also known as Hiam Abbas or Hiyam Abbas, is a Palestinian actress and an Arab citizen of Israel. She is known for her roles in the films Satin Rouge , Haifa , Paradise Now , The Syrian Bride , Free Zone , Dawn of the World , The Visitor , Lemon Tree , and Amreeka...
as Hind al-HusseiniHind al-HusseiniHind al-Husseini was a Palestinian woman notable for rescuing 55 orphaned survivors of the Deir Yassin massacre, after they were dropped off in Jerusalem and left to fend for themselves... - Freida PintoFreida PintoFreida Pinto is an Indian actress and model best known for her portrayal of Latika in the 2008 Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire, for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture...
as Miral - Yasmine Al Massri as Nadia
- Ruba Blal as Fatima
- Alexander SiddigAlexander SiddigSiddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi is a Sudanese-born English actor, also known as Siddig El Fadil and his stage name Alexander Siddig. He is known for playing Dr...
as Jamal - Omar MetwallyOmar MetwallyOmar Metwally is an American actor.Metwally was born in Queens, New York to an Egyptian father and a Dutch mother, and moved with the family to Orange County, California at age three where he was raised...
as Hani - Willem DafoeWillem DafoeWillem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
as Eddie - Vanessa RedgraveVanessa RedgraveVanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
as Bertha Spafford - Stella Schnabel as Lisa
- Makram KhouryMakram KhouryMakram J. Khoury is an Israeli Arab, born 30 May 1945 in Jerusalem. He was the youngest artist and the first Arab to win the Israel Prize, the highest civic honor in Israel. He is one of the most accomplished and well-known Israeli Arab actors.Today, Makram is active in films, on the stage, and on...
as Khatib - Doraid Liddawi as Sameer
- Shredi Jabarin as Ali
Production
The Palestinian girl is author Rula Jebreal. Her novel on which the movie is based is a strongly autobiographical account of her youth in West BankWest Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. She's torn between the injustice she sees at the hands of the Israeli army during the first Intifada
Intifada
Intifada is an Arabic word which literally means "shaking off", though it is usually translated into English as "uprising" or "resistance" or "rebellion". , not to be confused with the Arabic plural ...
and a desire for peace.
Schnabel revealed that the project had relevance for his own family history, figuring that he was a pretty good person to tell the other side of the story, given his background, as an American Jew whose mother was president, in 1948, of the Brooklyn chapter of Hadassah
Hadassah
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with around...
the Women's Zionist Organisation of America.
Critics
Kelly Vance wrote that "Pinto handles the central role with a certain dignity, but the real drama is in Miral’s rejection of violence in favor of Hind Husseini’s (Abbass) example of education and negotiation".Kenneth Morefiled opined that "Miral is an ambitious film, and it may be that Schnabel's reputation has led to unrealistic expectations about what any film can (or should attempt to) accomplish. While it falls short of greatness, it has many admirable qualities".
Sheri Linden of The Los Angeles Times writes, "The lack of a compelling lead figure, combined with Schnabel's tentative approach to the material, casts the film's later stretches in the balmy glow of soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
." Justin Chang of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
similarly adds, "Schnabel's signature blend of splintered storytelling and sobering humanism feels misapplied to this sweeping multigenerational saga of four Arab women living under Israeli occupation, the youngest of which, Miral, emerges a bland totem of hope rather than a compelling movie subject."
Deborah Young of the Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a political film with a message of hope, on the obvious side,"
Miral was reviewed by Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
as "choppily edited" and "unevenly performed" but also "courageous" and "groundbreaking."
See also
- Deir Yassin massacreDeir Yassin massacreThe Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun Zevai Leumi and Lohamei Herut Israel Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...
- Israeli Declaration of Independence
- 1948 Arab–Israeli War
External links
- Miral at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- Miral at PathéPathéPathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
- Columnist Ray Hanania on the importance of the film