Unsettled
The film, Unsettled, written and directed by Adam Hootnick is very unsettling. It is the story of an unhappy situation in Israel when the Israeli government made the decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005, forcing the families living there to abandon their homes. It focuses on six young people (in their 20’s) and each of their struggles under the bitter circumstances that they must face. Lifeguards Lior, age 21, and Meir, age 27, who considered Gaza’s beautiful area the “Palm Beach” of Israel, find it difficult to live in any other area of the country. Neta, a 20-year old religious filmmaker, attempts to convince the Israelis that the withdrawal is a crime against God. Ye’ela, age 21, joins a tour in support of the withdrawal believing it could help to bring peace even though she mourns the loss of a sister killed by Palestinian terrorists. And what of the soldiers who have to fight against
their own brethren? Yaval, 21, and Tamar, 20, despite their emotions, must undertake their obligations as soldiers in the Israeli army.
Watching these scenes where families are forced from their homes, some of them fighting all the way, is particularly emotional, heartbreaking and bitter.
Unfortunately, another attempt by the Israelis to bring peace that has backfired.
Opens May 16, at the Laemmle Music Hall 3.