Film Review - Private

The movie Private, released in 2004, was a riveting and unique tale of a Palestinian family residing within Israel, seemingly under Israeli command. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie from the very beginning, where it captured the Palestinian family going through with normal day-to-day events much like you or I do. However, from the start you could tell something drastic was about to change this family’s life. This showed up in the form of Israeli soldiers, who ransacked and took over the family’s house in the middle of the night, using it as a military outpost on Palestinian land. From that point on the film brings you to “the edge of your seat” to be cliché, and has you yelling at the screen. Private is very far from being one of my favorite foreign films, but it is definitely exhilarating and gives life to a conflict that many people do not know much about.

There was some difficulty relating to the actions the characters took in the film and you were constantly questioning, “Why are they doing that?” This minimizes character relatability and weakens the overall plot. I was disappointed in how the movie ended and in how they did not expand on the Israeli soldier’s story, as well as the father’s. I expected more information and the tying up of ends before the movie was over, but it did not happen. Overall, I enjoyed Private and I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it’s not one of my favorites.