Customer Reviews

Promises

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just want to add my voice to the other reviewers who praise Promises. Their descriptions will give you a good idea about the films contents so I'll just say, this is a very moving and informative film. Most of my reviews are from the stand-point of a middle school teacher looking for materials to use in my class. This film is outstanding! It's the type of lesson you'll be excited to teach. If you are looking for something to use to explore and learn about Israel and Palestinian relations buy this DVD. I thought the length of the DVD would lose my students. I was wrong-- they stayed engaged through the whole film (about 3 class periods).

If you believe in your heart that, despite every hurdle, peace is possible between the Israelis and Palestinians, this film will fill you with hope and wonder. That's not to say it's rosy - the children depicted in the film often exhibit anger and intolerance, but the mere act of recognition between the children of these two warring groups is enough to inspire faith in their futures. This film is a beautiful document of a precious, brave and tenuous experiment on the part of the filmmakers. May we all have the courage to try to guide the next generation into a more peaceful, more understanding world.

If 50 stars were possible, this film would have earned every one. Find ways to share the message with those you know, and those you don't. We must come together, and assist our Jewish and Arab brothers and sisters, however possible!

I'm Jewish, and I just don't get what the two reviewers who maintain the film is slanted against Jews or Israel are talking about. I saw it at our synagogue one night, and I fail to see what they claim. "Promises" is not anti-Jewish nor pro-Palestinian: it is pro-humanity! It shows just how prejudiced both communities are, and how the poison of hate filters down to the children. If it is 'anti' anything, it is anti- hate, anti- bigotry, and pro- know-your-neighbor-as-yourself. There are several deeply profound moments in the film that can just blow you away (if your heart is open to it). The film demonstrates to the viewer the healing power of listening and being heard, and the wonderful natural ability of children to quickly 'see outside of the box', or in this case, see each other beyond what they've been taught: that the other is an 'enemy' to be distrusted. Instead, they readily can see that, in fact, they are much alike. They love the things that all children love. And, in the alchemy of one special moment, they have the vision (that most adults woefully lack) to imagine a life where they could live together, and even enjoy each other! Like one of the other reviewers, if there were more stars to give this film, I would not limit it to 5 stars. I wish all Palestinians and Israelis, Jews and Arabs, would see this wonderful film. There is such wisdom in these children that adults need to hear.

I just recently saw this documentary for the second time in its recently released DVD version. The Israeli and Palestinian children in Jerusalem and the West Bank that BZ Goldberg interviews, and whose lives we are given a glimpse into, are incredibly outspoken, articulate, often brutally honest and heartbreaking. From the Israeli boy who lives in a settlement in the West Bank, to the blue-eyed Palestinian boy in east Jerusalem, we hear about their daily realities, their fears, their studies and interests, and most telling of course, their opinions on the seemingly interminable conflict that they have known about and lived through their entire lives. The filmaker's and the movie's intent to focus on the children of the conflict does not simply pursue a cliched view that "if only children had their way, peace could be achieved." Rather, the children express a full range of emotions, beliefs and ideologies (some of which evolve and change during different points in the film) towards the situation and their perceptions of "the other"... from curiosity, to indifference, to hope for reconciliation, to anger and resentment. Such emotions and ideologies reflect the plurality of beliefs that exist among Israeli and Palestinian populations as a whole, in large part of course, because of the way in which different parents, leaders, teachers, media sources etc. help to pass down certain values and ways of understanding the situation to the next generation.

The most touching part of the documentary is an impromptu meeting that happens between some Palestinian kids in a West Bank refugee camp and Israeli twins from Jerusalem. Watch this documentary, if just for the scenes that unfold during this emotional, enlightening (for the kids and for us, the viewers) humorous, and bittersweet event (though I think you'll find the entire documentary to be just as great)!

This newly released DVD also includes updates on all of the main children (now teenagers), in which most of them spoke again during the summer of 2004 about where their lives have taken them since. Some of the stories of what their lives have been like over the past 4 years, and how they have changed since the first filmings will be surprising, encouraging and perhaps sad. Whether you don't know much about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or are already very interested in it, I would recommend this documentary to you. These kids are wise beyond their years, and some have experienced more hardship than most of us will know. You'll learn from them, and most importantly, understand more about where they're coming from.

Maybe the best sign of how good a movie/documentary is, is whether or not the "characters" and "plot" stick with you after you've seen it. And the stories and personalities of these children have done exactly that with me-- and will for a long time to come!

We watched this documentary in my World Geography class - a subject I had very little interest in, until recently. I've always heard about the West Bank on the news, but never knew much about what was going on. It's about religion, right? Well, yeah... sorta. It's more about land than religion. The Palesitnians and the Jews both claim rights to it through their decendant Abraham.

This documentary is so good because it is told from the standpoint of children. Through these kids, you hear generations of hate and misunderstanding passed down through parents. Somehow, through their eyes, everything is clearer. At times you hold out hope that this can be resolved and at times, no hope whatsoever. It's funny, sad, serious and lighthearted.

After class I went home and ordered the documentary online. I intend on watching it again and showing it to friends to help them get a clear understanding of what is going on over there. I rate this documentary with Trekkies and Supersize Me. It's not as funny as the other two, but definitely worth your time and money.

Both documentaries have had a profound impact on me. I saw Gaza before this, and I like that order even though they were filmed in reverse. The film showed how the childish optimism slowly peeled away over the years, though hope seemed to fall away with it.

To those who say it is Palistinian biased, I think the plight is worse for Palistinian children. That may be where the bias seems to come from. Children were the lens both documentaries were filmed through, which is why I compare them. In promises, you see some examples of what different children's lives are like on both sides of the struggle. Some hesitantly choose to meet face to face near the end. With so little interaction, and so much mutual ill will, its no wonder progress is seldom made.

I have to say this is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. A beautiful and deeply moving portrait of seven Palestinian and Israeli children.
This film focuses on the lives of these incredibly talented and intellegent children and the world that seperates them. Seperated by just a few miles and a chain link fence, these beautiful children are completely cut off by war, prejudice and hatred.
Most of the children had lost family members to the other side. "The enemy". Many were children themselves when they were killed.
One of the children makes a statement during an interview that completely moved me. "Who wins in war? Either you die, or your enemy dies, but either way, who has really won?"
So often in the American news we hear of the horrible bombings in Israel. The acts of Arabic terrorists. I always thought of the Israelis being the only victims. Rarely do we ever hear of the oppression and killings of the Palestinians. The loss of their land due to colonialism. I never knew how much these Arabs suffered. I don't feel this film was biased at all as one reviewer states. These are all opinions of children, most of them very differing. There is no slant, just interviews with the children.
This film has been eye opening and I am forever changed.

My Facing History and Ourselves teacher showed us this film, and despite the length, our entire class stayed fully attentive because it's just that good. The movie gave me a much better understanding about the Israeli-Palastinean conflit and the people behind it. I think it's because that the main characters are children which makes the movie so compelling and moving. It was also amazing how much the children understood--they knew their positions well and defended with logic based on who they where, what they are taught, and just... everything that they are.

We're going to meet that Arab kid in the film, Faraj, in our class soon, and I'm really excited! He, I think, understood the conflict best of all, and has a much much more objective and well-analyzed viewpoint. He may be an Arab, and he shows anger and intolerance to begin with, but as he progresses in the film, he realizes that Jewish children are just like Arab children. He wants to meet and connect, yet he knows that it takes a lot of work because there is little to connect these children. He is also interested in the conflict, and isn't just worried about his own problems like one of the kids... something about volleyball.

Anyway, whatever your view may be, this view is definitely an eye-opener. I cried a couple times because it's just such a wonderful movie!!

If you have ever wondered how to gain at least some understanding of the convoluted, protracted and intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict, watch this documentary film. You will learn its basic history, but perhaps more importantly you will learn about the deeply human impulses that drive that history, human impulses as they are experienced and narrated by seven children interviewed for this film project--Israeli and Palestinian, extremist and conciliatory, passive observers and political militants, boys and girls. A child's perspective, it turns out, touches the viewer very deeply, for these kids have siblings who have been killed and parents jailed without formal charges. In an especially moving sequence, the children meet together in an exchange of food, games, friendship, opinions, tears, and feelings of both hope and futility. The final frames show an Arab mother and a Jewish father in a maternity ward standing next to each other, each embracing their newborn baby. The producers edited over 170 hours of original interviews down to 107 minutes for this incredible film. In Arabic, Hebrew, and English, with English subtitles.

What keeps hate and mistrust alive? Planting those seeds in the minds of children. What can diffuse hate and mistrust? Teaching children to see things from another's point of view. These seem to be (a few of) the lessons in Promises. Shocking in the movie is the amount of dogma absorbed, understood and regurgitated by (preteen) Jewish and Arab children (from Israel and the occupied territories.) Promises is an eye-opener in that it shows how real people - in this case, children - view the "enemy" in a conflict that has raged for decades (some would say millenia.)

Promises seems to have a bit of a Pro-Palestinian slant. There again, both points of view, for lack of a better term, are represented through the thoughts and feelings of the kids interviewed. Though sometimes terrifying how filled with mistrust - the beginnings of hate starting to creep to the surface - both the Jewish and Arab children seem to be, Promises is life-affirming in that glimpses of hope are seen as the children meet and interact with each other.

It's a great film. I wish someone had done a movie like this about kids in Northern Ireland.