Review of Private

We just finished watching Private on Thursday and we have talked about it in class, but I am limited on what I can say about it in the time we have. So I am going to write a more in depth review of the film and what I think about it.

Private is a film depicting a Palestinian family having their home invaded by Israeli soldiers, and being forced to live out of their living room. The film shows their ordeal, and their conflict, not just with the soldiers, but with each other. It also does a great job of showing the human side of both the Palestinians and the Israelis, even though the "political" view point is in support of the Palestinians. The way it was filmed, with a camcorder, gave it a much more documentary "as it is happening" feel to it. This is reinforced by the fact that you never see the soldiers without the family, almost as if it is an unrecognized family member watching all this unfold.

The use of lighting and sound was also very important for generate feelings of terror and mystery. For instance, when the youngest daughter was locked out of the room at night, pitch black, with gunfire and explosions in the background while the entire family is screaming. This provokes the viewer and makes them feel what the characters are feeling, and helps them to empathize.

The fact that the entire film took place in one location helped to distort time. Even though it was only a few days time, it seemed much longer than that, I expect that is very much how the characters feel.

As a whole I feel it is a good piece and does its job well of portraying the events and the people involved, even if it is a bit biased.