Best movie of this year hands down!

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

BETHLEHEM Viewed at the Budapest Israeli Film Week, Dec. 5, 2016 An Israeli Agent and His teenage Palestinian Informant Bethlehem (hebrew: ‫בית לחם‬‎‎) is a 2013 Israeli drama directed by first time helmer Yuval Adler and takes place during the Al-Aqsa second Intifada around 2004 and tells the story of the complex relationship between an Israeli Secret Service officer who speaks Arabic and is trying to avert a major suicide bombing attack, and his teenage Palestinian informant-protegé, Sanfur, who shuttles back and forth between all belligerent sides. Main cast, all first time screen actors and all perfect in their roles.Tsahi Halkevi as the Israeli agent ~ (star charisma) Shadi Mar'i as Sangur the young Palestinian informant Hitham Omari as Radaei, The Palestinian militants leader Running time 99 minutes. The Belgian production company "Entre Chien et Loup" is noted for making hard hitting off mainstream films and the name which means "Neither Dog nor Wolf" is a perfect metaphor for this movie which is neither Pro-Israeli, nor Pro-Palestinian, but, if anything, against the madness on both sides. Both central actors, the protective agent and the conflicted boy, are extremely sympathetic so that you can't help rooting for both of them to come out on top. Unfortunately the rules of the deadly Intafada game are not going to let that happen. The city scapes of Jerusalem and to a lesser extent Bethlehem are more than mere settings -- something like living organic geography. All in all this is a non-stop thriller that brings the Intifada -- the Palestinian uprising against the far more heavily armed Israeli establishment -- right into your living room or your lap depending where you are watching it. Tanks and pellet guns against rock throwing mobs - grenades when necessary -- kalishnikovs -- in your face. Industrial strength film making with totally realistic acting all around -- so realistic it's chilling. Actually more Arabic is heard than Hebrew, and a nifty touch is that the Israeli Intelligence agent, Razi, speaks perfect Arabic when he has to, which is much of his screen time. Since the Palestinians are on screen the majority of the time we see the Intifada more from their point of view, while not necessarily approving or disapproving -- and a mixed point of view it is because of the fierce Internal rivalry between the Hamas and Palestinian authority factions. This internal feud is starkly brought into focus when the two factions nearly come to a shootout over the question of how to dispose of the body of a fighter (martyr) killed in action against the Israelis. This is a film that tells it like it is whether you like it or not and introduces some excellent new actors in a very tightly directed and spellbinding drama apart from whatever politics may or may not be implicit. Both Tsahi Halevi as the handsome. brooding Israeli agent and Shadi Mar'l, the teenage Palestinian caught in the middle of a deadly three way tug of war, radiate star charisma each in his own way. Another surprising candidate for Top Ten of 2016.

The story of this sensitive movie is simultaneously symbolised by the fact that the auteurs of the film itself, Adler (Israeli Jew) and Waked (Palestinian), are brave symbols of two men from opposite sides of the spectrum wishing to offer a balanced view rather than the usual generic binary framing of Israel = bad; Palestine = good. There are, as in life, no 'goodies' or 'baddies' in this film, just people on both sides desperate for a solution and trying to make the best out of their lives that they can. This is demonstrated in the depiction of the Israeli Intelligence staff being as bigoted and untrustworthy as the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and the Al-Aqsa terrorists.I applaud Adler and Waked for having created not just a memorable and poignant movie, but a film that represents all of the differing and insurmountable issues in Israel today. My one regret is that it is ONLY Israeli movies that depict Israel and the Jewish protagonists in their films as being human and neither innocent nor evil (see, for example, Waltz with Bashir; Lebanon; Room 514; The Hill.) Every Palestinian / Arabic film that I have viewed, without exception, has not been able to offer this balance. The Jews are always depicted in Arabic movies as violent oppressors and the Palestinians always shown as innocent resistance fighters without blemish. I hope that Adler and Waked will be given the opportunity to continue to collaborate and make movies that give truthful as opposed to cartoon insights into desperate situations facing Jews and Arabs in Israel. Films like this are powerful enough to transform the dialogue that we have to create understanding rather than judgement.

There are some films that can get saved by a clever or dramatic ending, but rarely is there an excellent film that gets ruined by a terrible ending. Not that the ending is "emotionally" or "dramatically" terrible, and I won't go any further in the event you see this film to hint about what happens. But it seemed to me that the film simply ends with no resolution. Of course, that's what the authors are trying to say - the situation seems to have no solution, so why should the film have a satisfactory or even an unsatisfactory ending. I understand that. But this film simply ends. In mid thought. Otherwise it's a marvelous film, with terrific acting, photography and a well crafted script. The film does require that you have some understanding of the issue, and the more you are familiar with present days problems in Israel the more you will "enjoy" the film.

There are no political discussions in BETHLEHEM, no messages about who has rights to the land or which nation has a case of self-defense against whom or how coexistence can be achieved. What's given is a situation in which the Arab streets are violently factionalized at least three ways, with little to distinguish among the factions-- except that Hamas does have the banner of religion, and the recognized political establishment does have the material comforts and connections. The main Israeli character is a runner of spies who is repeatedly warned that he's taking a dangerous gamble; the tension on his side is whether his methods will work for him or not. The tension for the main Arab character, a young spy working for Israel, is whether he can keep his head above water when it's one Arab faction against another and all of them against collaborators like him. The situation is laid out well and comprehensibly, and the tension mounts believably all the way through.