Contemporary artist provocateur Julian Schnabel has evolved to possess a singular filmmaking aesthetic. After earning global acclaim for his profoundly moving adapation of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Schnabel's latest film, Miral, is certainly a brave departure. Yes, it is a hot button pusher of an effort. If only the film was a bit more balanced in its examination of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict instead of coming across as a flawed polemic. Get the download below:
THE STORY: Journalist Rula Jebreal adapts her own novel, itself a fictionalized account of her life growing up on the West Bank. A multi-generational chronicle of sevearl Arab women, it begins with Hind Husseini's (Hiam Abbass) brave effort to establish an orphanage after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. 30 years later, Miral arrives at Husseini's orphanage following her troubled mother's death. As she completes her education, the now grown up Miral (Freida Pinto) is assigned to teach at a Palestinian refugee camp. Enduring the often brutal treatment at the hands of the Israeli miliatry, Miral finds her own consciousness awakened to the plight of the Palestinians, a perspective stirred further by her falling for a young miltant. As the First Intifada is engaged, Miral is faced with a complicated struggle that mirrors the plight of the Arab state. Should she fight for her place in the world or seek a more enlightened means of establishing peace for all?
WHAT WORKS: The very fact that director Julian Schnabel has opted to create a work that offers the Palestinian perspective is reason enough to cheer the arrival of the Miral. It was destined not to be a popular conceit, which was validated by a particularly strong response from Jewish special interest groups publicly seeking its being banned. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not an easy one to discuss in any medium and Schnabel doesn't shy away from the thorns,either. Without question, it is myopic and foolhardy to protest the film as being unworthy of viewing and discussion. Even more, where does any one get off in believing that the Israeli perspective is the one true voice in representing this bloody, long-running ideological and military grudge match?
The Weinstein Company has certainly made good use of the controversy surrounding Miral as a marketing hook. Shameless? Indeed. And shrewd to match, but in the context of a film review, how does it measure up? Audiences will get a privileged view at a filmmaker seeking to expand his own creative aesthetic. Presented in the fractured narrative style that Schnabel has favored, Miral's strongest asset is its formidable cast of female protagonists, led by Freida Pinto, Hiam Abbass and particularly Yasmine Al Massri, who portrays Miral's brutalized mother, Nadia.
Whatever the shortcomings of Rula Jebreal's script, and they are considerable, the emotional authenticity of Pinto and Al Massri goes a long way in keeping the film from collpasing entirely into melodrama. Miral's journey as a child impacted by war and family strife is a compelling one. The awakening of her own social and political consciousness should be just as riveting if she wasn't so obvious a symbol of innocence lost.
Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) was a brave choice as Miral, a role which would have been an acting challenge for even the most seasoned veteran. Despite possessing a natural grace and beauty on screen, Pinto was simply not given enough of a person to portray to truly connect with audiences. Yet her unhindered innocence works to her advantage, allowing for humanity to override some of the rhetoric in which the role of Miral has been written to represent. Regardless, Pinto should be praised for delivering a very assured performance under such complicated circumstances.
Public opinion may decide he was aiming for shock value, but Schnabel clearly has a passion for the narrative. Much like his award-winning The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, he uses the camera in dynamic ways to heighten emotion and offer an interior voice to the film. The 70s-infused cinematography (the supremely talented Eric Gautier) strips away the sentimentality of the Palestinian landscape, giving Miral a stark and breathtaking beauty.
Is it ultimately Art or propaganda? You should watch and make up your own mind as Miral has plenty to provoke a passionate discussion after viewing.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Jebreal cannot be faulted for wanting to make a strong statement with her script for Miral, but good intentions are not enough. Despite the artistry engaged to create the film, its biggest liability is her screenplay. Awkward dialogue, too many narrative threads and a flat resolution are just many of the problems Miral struggles to overcome. While Schnabel did streamline the film further from its initial premiere at the 2010 Venice Film Festival, it still is an unbalanced vision. The horrors of war are not easy to depict, with or without an agenda. Still, if Miral wanted to offer a decidedly Palestinian view, was it important to vilify their aggressors in such an extreme fashion, even for the purpose of drama? So black and white are Jebreal's politics, they nearly undermine what makes Miral such an important endeavor in the first place.
THE FINAL WORD: Flawed or not, Miral deserves to be seen and appreciated as a bold statement of tolerance and understanding.
'Miral' is now playing in limited release in Los Angeles and New York. Check out Fandango, MovieTickets and NCM for tickets and theater information on all Personalities Movies.
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