Saturday, May 28, 2011

Miral (2010)

Miral (2010)
Miral (2010)

Genre: Drama
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Hiam Abbas, Freida Pinto, Yasmine Al Massri, Ruba Jebreal, Alexander Siddig
Duration: 112 min.
Rating: 7.2

Summary:
The story of four women whose lives intertwine in the starkly human search for justice, hope, and reconciliation in a world overshadowed by conflict, rage, and war.



Miral is a film directed by Julian Schnabel and his followup to the widely acclaimed and Academy Award nominated The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  Based on an autobiographical novel by Rula Jebreal, the story centers on Miral (played by Indian actress Frieda Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire fame), a young Palestinian girl growing up in Jerusalem amidst the Israeli/Palestine war who finds herself drawn into the conflict.     

It is a fascinating emotional and political story, but in the hands of Schnabel results in a film full of misguided stylistic choices and undeveloped plots.  The cinematography is handled well by Eric Gautier, but the overly artistic lens filtered sequences, rapid cut editing, and dizzying hand held camera twirls appear more as a distraction than as a dramatic aid.  Also the soundtrack featuring Laurie Anderson, Ennio Morricone, A.R. Rahman, and Tom Waits is just a bit too cool for the serious subject on screen. 

The acting is very good, especially Hiam Abbass as a wealthy Christian woman who runs a school and orphanage; and the very photogenic, though maybe too much so for this type of film, Freida Pinto is nonetheless convincing in the title role.  However the narrative jumps around and neither character is given a chance to fully develop.  Veteran actors Willem Dafoe and Vannessa Redgrave also have brief cameo appearances early on.

At least the film avoids political heavy-handedness, remains mostly neutral, and ends with a glimmer of hope for peace. 

Miral (2010)

Miral (2010)

Miral (2010)

Miral (2010)

Miral (2010)

Miral (2010)

Miral (2010)

Miral (2010)

12 comments:

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I love Tom Waits, but I didn't feel the song's placement really fit here.

Mette said...

I'll watch it because of A. R. Rahman and Freida Pinto ( :

The Reel Foto said...

thanks for the recommendation. :)

Jack L said...

Seems pretty passable.
I doubt I'll watch it, but it doesn't look particularly bad...

Thenitefalls said...

Looks like an inspiring film, I'm liking how they used a Tom Waits song near the end!

Tim B. said...

That's good to hear that it ends on a note for peace, especially for the difficult situation of Israel and it's neighbors. (I almost got sarcastic and said 'Yes, that is the face of a terrorist!')

Gonzalo Garcia-Castro said...

Im pretty sure shes not a terrorist...

Adalmin said...

Shame it wasn't executed as well as it could. Avoiding political heavyhandedness is really tough for a subject like this.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

That girl is going to be a big big star.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

No its not really bad, it has a very fascinating story, its just overshadowed by some bad directing.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah after his last picture, I was expecting another equally depressing film.  This was a bit of a nice surprise.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

It is a shame, it really could have been a masterpiece, there were some fine performances here.

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