Product Details

• Actors: Shredi Jabarin, Hili Yalon, Shlomo Wishinski, Michael Moshonov
• Directors: Dror Zahavi
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: Hebrew
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Film Movement
• DVD Release Date: June 1, 2010
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002MQM4FO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,842 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "For My Father" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

FOR MY FATHER - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Griping, thought provoking and very fascinating., June 1, 2010

By 

Chris Swanson "I'm just this guy, you know?" (Phoenix) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For My Father (DVD)

What motivates someone to be a suicide bomber? What makes someone want to strap an explosive vest to themselves and kill dozens of people who have done them no harm? Mostly, I think, it comes down to people doing what they honestly believe is the right thing to do. But what happens when a would-be suicide bomber's bomb fails to go off and he's left questioning his actions? That's where the heart of his movie, For My Father, lies.

The story centers around Tarek (Shredi Jabarin), a Palestinian man who has gotten caught up with a very bad crowd. They persuade him that blowing up himself and others is the best thing to do for his people. The fact that it seems to require several vague threats towards his family if he doesn't do it shows that Tarek is already quite conflicted, even before his bomb fails to go off.

In desperation after the failed detonation, he goes to a Jewish man who runs an electrical repair shop. He orders a new button and, in order to escape notice from the police, offers to repair the man's leaking roof in return. There begins a whole new life for him, where he gets to know the man and his wife and, perhaps more importantly, gets to know the beautiful girl who works across the street. But his old friends aren't so eager to let him go and make it clear that if he doesn't detonate the bomb, they will.

This is a very impressive film about a very dark subject and it doesn't shy away from showing both sides in Israeli/Arab conflict, making it clear that both have good points and both also are willing to behave badly. I find this especially poignant given that I'm writing this only a day after an unpleasant incident where Israelis bordered a cargo ship and killed some people.

The film is very well-written, very well-acted and expertly shot. It dragged a bit in a couple points, but nothing too severe and I found that it left me with a great deal to think about. That alone places is very high above most movies.

What makes someone be a suicide bomber? The answers are as plentiful as the people who do it, and ultimately none of the answers are very good.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great expectations, June 9, 2010

By 

gentle man (Honolulu) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For My Father (DVD)

Great movie right up to the final minute -- all the plot elements pointed to a positive outcome -- what led the script writer to choose that sorry ending is anyone's guess -- I don't like my emotions to be toyed with and have enough on my plate already. I watched this on Netflix and won't be buying the DVD.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest Objective and Passionate, February 14, 2010

By 

Murrell R. Morgan (brookhaven, new york United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For My Father (DVD)

This film does not take sides and gives no easy answers. The film also has all of the qualities that go into making a great movie. First, it has characters that you care about. Second,it is filmed on location. Third it is approximately 90 minutes in length. My feeling that once a movie is more than about 90 minutes, something could have been cut out. The Arab-Israeli fight for the same land is shown through a lens not often seen- the lives and feelings of ordinary people. The bottom line for me is that like the centuries old wars and violence in Ireland and Northern Ireland,the combatants have far more in common-a common passion for life and a common humanity, then those issues that divide them, and oftentimes are in my estimation a smokescreen for power grabs by ruthless and warlike individuals whose interests are served by unending bloodshed.
Maybe I'm naive, but I hold out hope for the Middle east because of the Good Friday Peace accords in Ireland in 1998-that 12 years later seem to be holding. Senator George Mitchell, in my estimation gets the credit, and my understanding of this is that Ireland the UK the USA, said to the 2w warring parties- the IRA and the UVF ok - You- get 50 percent of the sewer system and YOU get 50 percent of the sewer system. You can fight and not cooperate if you like, but 100% of the toilets won't flush. You get 50 percent of the electrical grid and You get 50 % of the electrical grid. If you want your lights to turn on-you are forced to cooperate. Etc with Post Office Parks, potholes, hospitals etc. Perfect? No. But so far the best thing for Ireland in 1000 years in my estimation. Would it work in the Middle east...??
Lastly, Hili Yalon is so hot she almost sets the screen on fire. She is one INCENDIARY actress. Richard Morgan